The "THEN" photo here would have been taken not long after the substation was built as it is dated "190?". Both it and the "NOW" photo were taken from directly in front of the building, looking west.
Though most people perceive the substation as being in the City of Greenwood,
Canada's Smallest City, it is actually in the even smaller town of
Anaconda, immediately south of Greenwood. The substation was initially built to provide the electrical power required to run the large
BC Copper Company smelter in the town of Anaconda.
At the end of World War I, copper prices fell precipitously, forcing the closure of the smelter and the sudden decline of the towns. Though it no longer had a smelter to supply, the Greenwood Substation remained in operation by West Kootenay Power, supplying power to the area until the 1980s, when it was replaced by newer facilities.
Several years ago the City of Greenwood hatched a plan to create an alternative power project and the
Boundary Copper Mining Interpretive Centre in the building. The project appears, at present, to have ground to a halt, leaving the building essentially dormant. The beginning of the story of the ambitious plan for the building is below.
Alternate Power Project
This building built in 1905 was used as the West Kootenay Power Building until 1996 when it was donated to the City of Greenwood, BC, Canada to be used as a heritage project. The Alternate Power Project is the first project to evolve on this site, 8 solar panels on the roof and a wind generator to help to recharge the batteries. This building, when occupied, will be able to generate the majority of its own electricity. Any surplus will be added to the electric grid and generate an income or reduce the rate of usage from the local grid.
This building will also be the Boundary Copper Mining Interpretive Centre. The Trans Canada Trail is immediately behind it, leading to Greenwood's Lotzkar Park, slag pile and smokestack, the remains of a Victorian Era Industrial Ruin, a copper smelter that ran from 1900-1918.
To find a good use for the building members of several volunteer groups in Greenwood formed the Heritage Development Organization, with a member of Council representing the City.
The idea was developed to establish an interpretation center, featuring mining, copper smelting and the role of electric power, all in the close proximity of Greenwood.
From OO Cities