Description of Historic Place

Ryan Retail Store, also known as building 1, located at the Ryan Premises National Historic Site of Canada in the outpost of Bonavista, is a simple wood frame building with a side-gable roof. The clapboard walls are outlined by finely proportioned trim and by the roof’s slight eaves overhang. The building is one of a group of six buildings that is highly evocative of the Newfoundland 19th- and 20th-century Atlantic fishing business. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Ryan Retail Store at the Ryan Premises is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
Ryan Retail Store is strongly associated with Atlantic Fisheries in Canada. One of six buildings that constitute Ryan Premises, it was the headquarters of a family operated inshore fishery. The Ryan Company made an important contribution to Newfoundland and Canadian history and was, at one time, one of the largest fishing firms on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. The Ryan Premises dominated Newfoundland’s economic history in the 19th century and continued to be the single most important source of employment and market income well into the 20th century. The Ryan Premises are directly associated with the Ryan family and particularly, with James Ryan (1841-1917), the founder of James Ryan Ltd.

Architectural Value
Ryan Retail Store is a good example of Newfoundland vernacular wooden architecture as evidenced by its basic design and unadorned, angular qualities. Its very good functional design and good construction forms part of a grouping of buildings whose geometric interplay features rectangular massing, regularly fenestrated elevations and front-sloping gable roofs.

Environmental Value
Ryan Retail Store as part of the Ryan Premises reinforces the mixed character of its commercial and residential setting in the seaside town of Bonavista and is well known at the local level.

Sources: Shannon Ricketts, Ryan Premises (6 buildings), Bonavista, Newfoundland, Federal Heritage Building Review Office Building Report 92-083; Ryan Premises, Bonavista, Newfoundland, Heritage Character Statement, 92-083.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Ryan Retail Store should be respected.

Its Newfoundland vernacular architecture, functional design and craftsmanship, for example:
-the basic rectangular massing of the building’s simple box-like form capped with a side-gable roof with a small shed-roofed structure attached to the rear wall;
-the pattern and size of window and door openings, the presence of a two-storey pilaster and the single off-set chimney that suggest a division of function;
-the solid, heavy timber post and beam frame construction with round wood studs at two foot (0.6 meters) centres clad with straight edged lumber and finished with narrow spruce clapboard;
-the clapboard walls that are outlined by finely proportioned trim, and by the slight eaves overhang and the narrow fascia;
-the simple ornamentation;
-the masonry and concrete foundations;
-the interior woodwork such as the fireplace mantel, stair railings, and surviving shelves and counters.

The manner in which Ryan Retail Store as part of the Ryan Premises reinforces the mixed character of its commercial and residential setting in the outport town of Bonavista, and is a well known building at the local level, as evidenced by:
-the overall scale, design and materials that make the building compatible with the Ryan Premises, of which it is a part;
-the building’s location within a major complex of buildings that is prominently situated within a relatively small community, and its role as a commercial structure within the community.