Description of Historic Place

H.P. Tergesen and Sons General Merchant, a designated provincial site, is a modest tin-clad building constructed in 1899. The store is located at an important intersection in the commercial heart of the Icelandic community of Gimli on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. The designation applies to the building and the lot on which it sits.

Heritage Value

H.P. Tergesen and Sons General Merchant is a rare surviving example in Manitoba of the kind of commercial establishments that served most small communities around the turn of the twentieth century. The store recalls the simple vernacular traditions, construction materials and interior layout, finishes and details that characterized this building type, with the exceptional feature of pressed tin cladding on its facades. The store has been open since 1899, making it one of the oldest small retail establishments in Manitoba. It also has important connections to the Tergesen family, which has operated the store continuously for more than 100 years.

Source: Manitoba Heritage Council Minute, October 24, 1989

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the site include:
- prominent placement of the building at the southwest corner of the intersection of two of Gimli’s main thoroughfares, 1st Avenue and Centre Street

Key elements that define the building’s simple vernacular commercial style include:
- the basic square form of the building and modest one-storey height, with pressed tin cladding and a simple cornice with widely spaced shallow supporting brackets that runs along the roofline of the east and north faces
- doors with flanking large display windows at the northeast corner and along the east and north faces
- the simple sign reading “H.P. TERGESEN” set in the secondary cornice above the main entrance

Key internal elements that define the heritage character of the building include:
- the open, spacious quality of the interior, with exposed simple post-and-beam structural system and the walls and elaborate pressed tin ceiling painted white with grey and yellow trim
- the random placement of display tables throughout the store and placement against the walls of wood and glass shelving units and display cases
- main checkout desk with elaborate metal and wood cash register dating from 1899