As the name would suggest, the Nelson Coke and Gas Works are in Nelson, quite a distance from Greenwood. Given their product line of paints, coal tar, pitch and preserving oils, one would suppose that new and booming mining towns such as Greenwood would provide a ready market.
The business of the Coke and Gas Works was to import coal and export refined products, including coke, tar, roofing pitch, creosote, preserving oils, paint and tar paper. As such, its location adjacent to the railway, for economical transportation, was a given. The gasworks part of the name came from its business of supplying the town with coal gas for heating and cooking. The arrival of natural gas pipelines in 1957, however, spelled the end for the gasworks.
The remaining two buildings of the Coke and Gas Works are at addresses 610 and 614 of Railway Street in Nelson. The buildings are very substantial, and also quite striking, having been constructed with very thick walls of heavy stone in 1900. These buildings were the first two to be designated as heritage structures in the city in or shortly after 1978.
The remaining two buildings of the Coke & Gas Works have been restored as City of Nelson Heritage Buildings and house various businesses, such as a U Brew store, a veterinarian and other offices.