Landmark building a hub again in downtown Cd'A

After sitting empty for years, the 92-year-old Wiggett building (which last housed Wiggett Antique Mall) in downtown Coeur d’Alene has been completely renovated — and new tenants are preparing to move into its retail and office spaces.

Coeur d’Alene locals Shelly and Phil Boyd had eyed the brick building at Fourth and Lakeside for years, but hesitated to buy it because of a lack of parking. In December 2017, the city of Coeur d’Alene started building a new parking garage, just a half block north of the Wiggett building.

Now the Boyds are part owners of the building, along with two other partners.

“When the parking garage came together, it became appealing,” said Shelly Boyd, who also owns a bakeshop called “Woops!” Located inside the Wiggett Building, Woops! opened in September 2018 and offers a wide selection of European-style pastries and coffees.

Renovating and restoring the building was no small task, Boyd said.

“It was in a terrible state,” she said. “It was horrendous. We’re really happy that it was structurally sound and has been able to stay intact.”

While doing research for a book about the history of Coeur d’Alene, Robert Singletary of the Museum of North Idaho uncovered details about the Wiggett building’s past.

In 1927, James W. Wiggett, an early Coeur d’Alene builder and merchant, constructed a building on the southwest corner of Fourth Street and Lakeside Avenue. The following year, Wiggett leased the building to retailer Montgomery Ward. It became one of 245 retail stores established by Montgomery Ward in the 1920s.

The building had a unique feature on the front outer wall, Singletary said: a sculpted medallion made by Scottish-American sculptor J. Massey Rhind. It features a woman in a flowing dress, holding a torch. Titled “Progress Lighting the Way for Commerce,” the medallion was one of several similar pieces Rhind created for the retailer.

“It’s a beautiful image,” Singletary said. “I don’t know how many people know this is up there.”

After the renovation, the medallion is still there.

Boyd said it was a priority to maintain as much of the building’s original structure as possible.

“We understood the importance of this building to a lot of people,” she said. “We wanted to preserve its history and keep it historical-looking. It’s required a lot of people doing marvelous work to make that happen.”

The renovation process was hindered by flooding and other issues, Boyd said, but the first group of tenants will move in during February. The rest will move in throughout the spring.

“It was important that it became a happy spot,” Boyd said of the building’s renovation. “We’ve had a lot of people sharing stories from when they were kids.”