Cunningham Hardware was a fixture in downtown New Westminster on Columbia Street. It was owned by Jim Cunningham (1834-1925), a local hardware merchant and real estate investor, who was helped to rebuild New Westminster after the 1898 fire which ravaged the Royal City's downtown core. Cunningham first came to British Columbia to mine the goldfields in 1860, and settled in New Westminster. He used his assets to invest in real estate in the growing city; and, in 1904, he was recorded as the 'chief taxpayer of the city'. He was prominent in local affairs, elected Mayor of New Westminster in 1873, and Member of Parliament in 1874-78. (Source:Cunningham Block and New Westminster News Leader).
These photos from the New Westminster Public Library photo database will give you an in idea of what Cunningham Hardware was like:
Exterior, 1903
And a store interior, possibly of Cunningham Hardware, 1900-1910:
Cheers, K.
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