Reliable Ripplinger Gallery, Henry's Coffee Boutique, and Gift and Garment Center — A Historical Perspective While driving home after a visit with his mother, who lived in an older high-rise on McIntyre St., 2100, Henry saw a two-and-a-half-story home for sale on Smith Ave., corner 14th Ave. A spark of excitement hit him, as he began to feel that this could be an ideal setting for a gallery where he would hang his work and other Saskatchewan artists. He was in the preceding Lumsden acreage home studio where he showed visitors his art. Henry went back to the house on purpose in the fall of 1987 before taking his mother out for lunch. He nearly fell to his knees when he saw a realtor taking down a "for sale" sign. Henry was relieved when the realtor said that the house had been on the market for over a month and that the demolition would be coming as planned to turn the property into a car park. Henry went with the sales rep to the abandoned house. The house had been vandalized and trashed. Broken glass, paper cups, magazines torn up, and mud-caked coffee cups were everywhere on the three floors. The basement was even worse. It had a filthy floor, all the doors were removed, and the wire and sewers were worse. Henry was not disgusted by what had repelled potential buyers. Henry was transfixed by its potential. He saw past what was wrong and saw what was needed. He imagined the finished, gallery-friendly rooms that would fill the place with Saskatchewan art pieces.
