The Hoffman House was considered the best hotel in the district, boasting a dining room, club rooms, a bar room, 25 bedrooms and 4 bowling lanes in the rear. Built in 1896, this structure was, for many years after ceasing operations as a hotel, operated as a hardware store in conjunction with the Collins Hotel, adjoining its south side. The hardware business, under three different names, continued in operation into the 1990s.
Four times, in 1902, 1926, 1927 and 1929, the hotel escaped fire, as did its neighbours on Washington Street. The 1902, 1927 and 1929 fires were major events, each destroying much of Rossland's downtown, while the 1926 fire was contained to the bowling alley at the rear of the Hoffman House.
The Hoffman House was considered to be one of the best hotels in Rossland in its time. It was built in 1898 and consisted of 25 rooms. It also had a bowling alley in the back, though it was lost to a fire in 1926.
More recent businesses utilizing this building:
Rossland Hardware
Tails Pet Supplies
House of Paws Pet Supplies
From the Rossland Museum
Hoffman House
Description of Historic Place
The Hoffman House is located at 2044 Washington Street in Rossland, British Columbia. It is a wood-framed, flat-roofed, three storey building with a full 30' street frontage. The historic place includes the building on its footprint.
Heritage Value
The Hoffman House is valued because it is part of the original streetscape of downtown Rossland that dates back to 1896. The Washington Street buildings escaped the horrific fires of 1902, 1927 and 1929 that destroyed so many of the early commercial buildings in other parts of the downtown.
The presence of the Hoffman House today is a visual reminder that hotels were the most prevalent type of building in the downtown Rossland during the boom years of the gold mining era. There were over 40 hotels in Rossland in 1900 and the Hoffman House is representative of the larger hotels in town, having had more than 30 rooms. It had the required kitchen and dining room facilities and met the fire regulations and thus received hotel status in the eyes of the local licensing authorities. The Hoffman House bar-room was a popular spot for entertainment and socializing for locals and visitors.
The Hoffman House exemplifies the common characteristic history of many of Rossland's downtown buildings in that the usage of this building has changed many times over the years since it was built. Amongst the most noteworthy changes in usage was the creation of a hardware store in 1934 when the Hoffman House and its neighbor, the Collins Hotel, were purchased and became one business entity on the main floor of both buildings. The hardware business continued into the 1990s, but under three different ownerships. Apartments in both buildings replaced the original hotel bedrooms on the second and third floors.
Improvements to the front of the Hoffman House in 2007 replicated historical elements of the original façade, adding to the visual appeal of Washington Street and supporting efforts to maintain the historic ambiance of Rossland's downtown.
Character-Defining Elements
Key character-defining elements of the Hoffman House include:
- Location in the historic downtown area
- Original clapboard siding
- Balconies on second and third floors, as in the original façade
- Wooden canopy formed by second floor balcony - an original feature of the Hoffman House - that extends to the curb and is supported by wooden pillars
- Plaque on building frontage identifying the Hoffman House as one of Rossland's significant heritage buildings
From Historic Places Canada