Harrington's Store
Construction Period: From 1896 to 1905
Designation Level: Municipal
in Dawson City
Harrington's Store, also known as Building 15, is located at the corner of a major intersection in Dawson City. This two-storey commercial building is of wood-frame construction and has a flat roof. The building has Italianate architectural features, such as a boxed cornice, paneled frieze and a square sided, oriel window located at the corner angle above the richly ornamented, double door entrance. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Construction Period: From 1896 to 1905 Designation Level: Municipal
Designation Date: November 24, 2021
Harrington’s Store is recognized as a municipal historic site because of its historic, landscape, architectural and social values.
Its historic value stems from the development of Dawson into a mature settlement as the frenzy of the Klondike Gold Rush subsided. Many historic values of Harrington’s are representative of Dawson at the time. It was built, as a multi-storey combination commercial/residential building, these were common as hastily erected single storey buildings from 1898 and1899 were replaced with larger more prominent structures. William Harrington operated a grocery store on the ground floor and this is indicative of Dawson becoming a supply and distribution centre. Living space was provided on the second floor. The food service history of the building was reinforced through its later use as a bakery by Andrew Rystogi.
Harrington’s Store’s massing and relationship to its surroundings is representative of Dawson’s commercial buildings. These include its original relationship to Princess St. and Third Ave. characterized by no street set back and large display windows, thereby integrating the building with the street. The corner entrance is strategically located to allow the business to benefit from traffic on both streets. Harrington’s Store’s presence reinforces the historic nature of this commercial street scape, which contains numerous other historic buildings of a similar scale.
The architectural values of Harrington’s Store are a mix of representative and unique values. It follows many common architectural features of similar buildings including: symmetry from the salient axis—accented by the rectangular oriel window and double doors—rectangular, massing, and decorative entablature. These elements combine to give the building an aesthetically pleasing and balanced appearance. However, the building distinguishes itself through good craftsmanship and interesting design—especially its Italianate features. These architectural features combine to create a building that is both prominent in in the street and yet sympathetic to its surroundings.
The building is a landmark in Dawson due to its architectural sophistication, visibility and long history in the community through its long commercial associations and its use by Parks Canada as an exhibit space.
