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In 1906 James Porter whose firm James Porter and Company previously had been housed in cramped quarters on Main Street, employed John H.G. Russell, one of the city's best architects, to design a new warehouse for the firm.. The company was a wholesale and jobbing firm of crockery and china, importing from eastern Canada and overseas and selling through retailers across the prairies. The front and rear of the building are well lit with large windows, and there are windows on each corner of the east side as the architect designed the building to be easily adapted to office space, should circumstances require.