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 Vernon CPR Station - Vernon, BC Posted by:  ScroogieII
N 50° 15.874 W 119° 16.138
11U E 338291 N 5570510
Built in 1910 of brick with a fieldstone base, this station replaced an older wood station from 1891.
Waymark Code: WM12XFG
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 08/01/2020
Views: 0
Large and of "Swiss" or "Alpine" design, Vernon's new depot was intended to promote tourism and settlement. It can't be said with certainty that the depot itself attracted many settlers, but its location may have made a contribution. The Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) main line passed the Okanagan, and Vernon, over 50 kilometres to the north when it was completed to the coast in 1885. By the 1890s the Okanagan was welcoming large numbers of settlers, attracted to the valley for the fine weather and the many farming and fruit growing opportunities.
In 1886, a group of Vernon businessmen envisioned a railway spur south from the CPR mainline, which would be of tremendous value to the town, and to the entire valley. In 1892 the fledgling Shuswap & Okanagan (S & O) Railway was completed, starting in Sicamous and terminating in Okanagan Landing. In 1891 the S & O erected a wood framed station in the town. With the easier access to the Okanagan that the railway provided, Vernon saw a flood of immigrants, many of whom spread out through the Okanagan Valley, some of whom settled in Vernon, making it the commercial hub for the valley. Naturally, it was not two decades later that the town had outgrown its depot. By this time the CPR was operating the line and it was the CPR which replaced the 1891 depot with this beautiful brick and granite structure. It is quite similar to other CPR stations of the type built in that era, in Saskatoon, South Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Banff.
In January of 1925 the newly formed Canadian National Railway (CNR), the CPR’s major competitor, created a railway line from Kamloops to Kelowna which, naturally, ran through Vernon. In 1926 it began to offer passenger service and, lacking a station of its own, the CNR actually shared the Vernon train station with the CPR. This railway eventually became the Kelowna Pacific Railway in 2000. The inevitable result of high costs and low revenues, rail service ceased in July 2013. With the line south to Kelowna having been decommissioned, the rail bed from South Vernon to Kelowna has become the venue for a major local and tourist attraction - The Okanagan Rail Trail.
By 1973 the building ceased to be used as a railway station. Today the station houses several different business.
Vernon CPR Station
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Vernon Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Station is a one-and-one-half-storey rectangular red-brick train station in typical CPR railway design, characterized by an octagonal turret, hipped roof with gabled dormer, and wide overhanging eaves with large decorative brackets. It is located at the east end of 29th street at the base of the East Hill.
HERITAGE VALUE
The heritage value of the Vernon CPR Station lies in its association with the Canadian Pacific Railway and its role in the settlement and economic growth of Vernon and the Okanagan Valley. The construction, in 1891, of a branch line from the main CPR trans-Canada railway at Sicamous to Okanagan Landing led to an immediate spurt of growth, providing a conduit for settlers into the area and for agricultural products out of it. Vernon immediately became the commercial centre of the valley and the downtown business district moved east toward the railway. By 1910, Vernon was a prosperous community and the CPR was actively involved in attracting immigrants and tourists to the area. The 1891 station was replaced with a larger brick station with a fieldstone foundation and granite trim. The new station had a Dominion Express Company office at the south end, a central waiting room, telegraph office upstairs, and a baggage room.
The new station was part of a CPR programme in response to the rapid growth of competing railways such as the Canadian Northern, which completed its Edmonton station in 1905. The CPR built a succession of brick stations in 1907 in Saskatoon, South Edmonton, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. They all had short polygonal towers and grey stone bases. A new station was built in Banff in 1910, with distinctive uncut stone at its base. The Vernon station, built the next year, included the decorative towers and dormers of the most recent CPR stations, as well as a stone base, this time in fieldstone. The fieldstone worked well to limit damage to the brick building from trolleys moving freight, and the decorative roof ornamentation gave the building a landmark character, both on the town side, which had the tower, and on the railway side, which featured the dormer. However, the upstairs was not designed for occupation.
As well as being noteworthy as an arrival point for settlers, the Vernon CPR Station was also the point of departure for troops in World War I and II. During both world wars, the Vernon Army Camp was an active training centre for thousands of troops who travelled on the CPR. The station was used for passenger service and for freight and mail service. By the 1960s, passenger service had ended and the station served as a freight office. By 1973, the CPR centralized freight services in Revelstoke and the Vernon station was leased to commercial businesses, including a restaurant. After a 1981 fire damaged the roof and interior, the CPR sold to a private business owner. The City of Vernon attempted to buy it, but was unsuccessful. The building now houses the Downtown Vernon Association, a law office, and additional offices upstairs.
The station is also significant for its architectural design. It was built according to a standard second class CPR station plan found throughout western Canada. The style, often referred to as 'alpine' or 'Swiss', was intended to give visitors a sense of the picturesque and promote tourism as well as settlement. Numerous architects including Edward Colonna, Edward and William Maxwell, and Fred Crossley, all of whom designed stations similar to Vernon's station, practiced the style. The design details are considered variants of medieval revival styles. The Vernon station is a long rectangular building built of red brick. It has a hipped roof with a broad overhang. Large brackets connect the roof to the walls. A multi-sided turret with decorative finial surmounts the west elevation of the building, a gabled dormer decorated with plaster, and half-timbering is found on the east elevation. The foundation is in fieldstone. Granite is used for lintels and sills on the double-hung windows and there is a granite water table. The pink granite came from the Lefroy Quarry. T. E. Crowell was the contractor for the CPR Station. A garden was planned for the adjoining property, once the old station was removed.
From Historic Places Canada
Official Heritage Registry: [Web Link]
Address:
3101 29th Street
Vernon, BC
V1T 5A8
Heritage Registry Page Number: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
To log a visit to a Waymark in this category at least one photo of the property, taken by the visitor, must be included with the visit, as well any comments they have concerning either their visit or the site itself. Suggested inclusions are: what you like about the site, its history, any deviations from the description in the heritage listing noted by the visitor, and the overall state of repair of the site.
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