Dominion Fruit Company Warehouse

This old brick warehouse next to the rail yard in Medicine Hat, Alberta is about to turn 100 years old. Originally the warehouse for the Dominion Fruit Company, the building went up in the summer of 1913. I'm not familiar with much of the history unfortunately, but it's clear from all of the faded names painted around the top of the structure that it's had many uses in its lifetime.
  

In my view, the location's claim to fame today is the ghost mural of the Royal Crown Soap ad. The vintage Olson Kurb Side delivery van that's been parked next to the building for years is also a pretty cool highlight of the location.  You can even see the van in one these snapshots I took in the summer of 2004. 


Like many of the other buildings in the area, this warehouse is showing its age, and I'm not entirely sure if it's even in use anymore.  One interesting thing about the building is that the rear wall has a noticeable curve to it, and I believe that's because there used to be a curved rail line that originally ran behind the Dominion Fruit Company Warehouse and to the neighbouring Marshall-Mitchell Hardware Co. Warehouse, which was built first. See several of the archival images I found and posted of the building during construction a century ago.  

Dominion Fruit Warehouse construction ca. 1913

Dominion Fruit Warehouse construction ca. 1913

The warehouse shortly after completion. Notice the freshly painted ad.