This magnificent stone and brick building, with its stone and brick arches and imposing front turret, was built in three phases. The first was the Post Office, built by the Federal Government in 1902. The second was the Customs and Inland Revenue House in 1910, and the third was an expansion of the building in 1939.
The first two phases were designed by government architects, while the second and third were designed by prolific local architect Alexander Carrie. The building served as the Post Office and Customs House until 1957 and the City Hall from 1960 to 2005. With the construction of a new City Hall, the building is now home to Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History.
From the Nelson Heritage Register, 2011, number 17, page 32:
Description
Touchstones Nelson is housed in a prominent brick and stone building with a corner turret on the southeast corner of Vernon and Ward Streets in the downtown core of Nelson, B.C.
Value
The former Post Office, Customs House and City Hall, now Touchstones Nelson, is valuable primarily for its symbolic and physical importance at the heart of the city.
Constructed in 1902, the Touchstones Nelson building is significant for its grand scale and elaborate architectural design in a combination of the Chateau and Richardsonian Romanesque architectural
styles. The presence of this significant building at the important intersection of Vernon and Ward Streets was an indication that the city had progressed from a small commercial settlement to a
regionally important administrative centre. Somewhat controversially, plans prepared by the Dominion Government’s architects were supervised by Nelson architectural firm Cane and MacDonald. Partner James A. MacDonald was appointed the Supervising Architect for the construction of the 1902 Post Office portion of the building. The 1910 Customs House addition designed by local architect Alexander Carrie underscores the role of the city as a lakefront transportation hub and port of entry from the United States.
A 1939 stone addition, also designed by prominent local architect Alexander Carrie, took in the courtyard at the rear of the building and extended eastward to the Smedley Garage and property, an
indication of Nelson’s recurrent economic activity after its initial boom in the earlier part of the century.
Befitting a building built to manage the trading of natural and manufactured resources regionally and internationally, the materials used were a combination of Spokane pink brick and Kaslo marble.
The building is important for its ongoing successful examples of the adaptive re-use of heritage buildings. Serving as Nelson’s City Hall from 1960-2005, its continued public use is an important cultural aspect of the place. Through recent exterior conservation and interior alterations that are distinguishable from the original work, the building now houses Touchstones Nelson, the city’s museum and art gallery, and the Shawn Lamb Archives. The museum, art gallery, archives and collections are operated by the Nelson & District Museum, Archives, Art Gallery and Historical Society and include records of the activities of individuals, private organizations, and some records of governmental and public bodies.