Built in 1905, city hall was initially the offices of the Crows Nest Pass Coal Company, the town's major employer at the time. It's a beautiful old concrete block building, two storeys high, standing on a raised basement. The building was donated to the town by then owners, Shell Canada Limited, on March 1, 1993. As it was coal which gave birth to the City of Fernie, is seems only fitting that the city's government today be seated in the one time offices of the company primarily responsible for its existence.
Back in 2016 the city hall fell victim to crime, though it seems the damage or loss was minimal. To our knowledge this was the first time the venerable old city hall had suffered such an indignity. Some detail is provided by the short news article following.
City Hall broken into over weekend
The Elk Valley RCMP reported a break and enter occurred at Fernie’s City Hall early Saturday morning
LEAH SCHEITEL | Feb. 24, 2016
The Elk Valley RCMP reported a break and enter occurred at Fernie’s City Hall early Saturday morning.
Police were dispatched to City Hall at 2:05 a.m. after an alarm was triggered. The front window had been broken and the culprit reached around to let himself or herself into the building. Police reported seeing footprints on the lobby carpet, but did not see anyone in the building when they were there. Nothing was disturbed past the lobby.
Police noticed an intoxicated man attempting to get into the Seniors Centre across the street. He was arrested down the block. A forensic team reviewed the scene at City Hall to see if there was any connection between the man and the break in. The RCMP are still investigating the situation.
From The Free Press