It was a historic day in Hope as the Hope Station House successfully made its move to its new location on the morning of Feb. 15.
Cheers, clapping, and drumbeats from Taiko drummers filled the air as the historic building — which was being moved by industrial movers Nickel Bros. — finally parked in its new location next to the Hope, Cascades & Canyons Visitor Centre. Despite the cold and the strong winds, hundreds of people lined the moving route from Old Hope-Princeton Road to Water Avenue via Highway 1.
The move was a much-anticipated highlight in the community. Over the previous week people could not stop talking about the move, as they asked questions about its starting time, planned route, and where they could watch it online.
That same energy was very much present during the move, with people in the crowd expressing excitement over finally having a space for the Hope museum, in addition to saving and utilizing such an important piece of Hope’s history. This energy was further carried by the presence of the Taiko drummers, who performed sporadically as the building made its way to its new home.
Starting at 9 a.m. on the 15th, all eyes were on the Nickel Bros. team as they prepared the building and began the journey to 919 Water Avenue. Despite encountering some issues with tree branches and street signs, the building was able to be on the road and halfway to its new home by around 10 a.m.
During the move, the team, led by their operations manager and company president Jeremy Nickel, took it slow and made sure to stop when needed. Finally, at around 11 a.m., relief and cheers could be heard as the building finally landed in its new location. The move was completed two hours ahead of schedule.
The moment was especially momentous for Tashme Historical Society (THS) president Ryan Ellan and co-chair Laura Saimoto, who were both present for the entirety of the move. While both Ellan and Saimoto expressed their excitement at the Station House’s “landing,” they also made it clear that this was just the first major step in the building’s planned future.
THS, which owns the building, intends to repurpose it into a “vibrant heritage tourism and community hub,” one that will be shared with all of Hope’s communities and histories. This includes Hope’s logging, Chinese-Canadian, Japanese-Canadian, Indo-Canadian, and First Nation communities.
In addition to THS, the District of Hope’s Mayor Victor Smith, Coun. Zachary Wells, and Coun. Scott Medlock were also on site. Smith and Wells were assisting the Nickel Bros. team and Medlock was part of the crowd, witnessing the move. Visitor Centre staff were also present, helping with the move.
This is the Station House’s second move. The first one took place in 1985, thanks to a fundraising campaign (from 1984 to 1985) headed by the Village Arts and Crafts Society to save the building from demolition. After raising $17,000, the arts community was able to purchase the building from CN Rail and have it moved from beside the train tracks to a new location.
Originally built by the Great Northern Railway in 1916 at a cost of $7,250, the building was used as a station by CN, the Vancouver-Victoria Eastern, and Great Northern Railroads. The Station House was used until the 1950s, then sat empty until the 1980s. After it was moved, the Station House was re-opened as the Rainbow Junction Arts Centre and was used as a space to house a wide variety of art. It also had a teahouse within its space.
Sadly, due to the cost of heating and money owed to the government, the arts centre was forced to close down in 1996. Two decades later, despite attempts to revive it and utilize the space, the building — which by then was the property of the district — was again slated for demolition in early 2021.
This was not the end for the Station House, however. Following the district’s announcement about demolishing the building, a dedicated group of Hope’s citizens protested the decision and began to spearhead the movement to “save” the Station House.
Due to the Station House’s history within the Japanese-Canadian community , THS saw the significance of the Station House, and offered to work with the district to buy and relocate it. On Nov. 4, 2022, THS became the owners of the Station House.
In addition to this being the building’s second move, this was also the second time that Nickel Bros was in charge of the Station House’s relocation.
Watch for in-depth coverage in the Feb. 23 edition of the Hope Standard.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Historic Hope Station House officially on the move