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Vote early, vote often to support historic Hope CNR station

Station building, constructed in 1916, one of 10 finalists in this year’s ‘Next Great Save’ competition
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The historic CNR station in Hope has been boarded up for several years and was facing demolition when a grassroots initiative helped keep it alive. (Photo credit: Tashme Historical Society)

A grassroots campaign to help raise funds to preserve the historic former CN rail station in Hope is underway, with members of the public being asked to vote for the station in the National Trust for Canada’s “Next Great Save” competition.

Ten heritage sites from across Canada are vying for votes, with the winner receiving $50,000 to help save a heritage building that matters to its community. The 10 competing groups have plans to adapt, retrofit, renew, or improve a heritage place to extend its life and help it meet needs in the community.

The CNR station building in Hope, constructed in 1916, is the last surviving example in Canada of a Class 2 station, and was designed by architect John Schofield. The Hope station was a “special” variation of a Class 2 station, containing ticket and telegraph offices, waiting and baggage rooms, and living quarters for the station agent.

In 1942, more than 8,000 Japanese-Canadians passed through Hope Station on their way to internment camps, including 2,644 men, women, and children who were sent to the Tashme Internment Camp 19 kilometres west of Hope.

Following the decline of passenger train travel, the station closed for good in 1984. The community of Hope purchased the building and moved it to a new location at the corner of Old Princeton Highway and Water Avenue, where it operated as an arts and culture centre and musical hub. District of Hope council had granted the building municipal heritage status under the Heritage Conservation Act in 1982, but in 2021 voted by a margin of 5-1 to remove the status, paving the way for the District to demolish the building.

However, residents had already launched an appeal to council, filed complaints to the BC Ombudsperson, and staged public protests in order to try to save the building. A petition to save Hope Station garnered more than 1,300 signatures, and called on council to consider the financial and cultural benefits that could flow from the station’s preservation, noting that it could be a key component in marketing the town as a tourist destination rather than “an uninteresting fast food stop” on the way to somewhere else.

The Tashme Historical Society recognized the significance of the station building and its connection to Japanese-Canadian history. The society began working with the District of Hope to purchase the building, and in November 2022 took over ownership of the station.

In January 2023 the society announced plans to relocate the building to a site at 919 Water Street, hopefully in spring or summer 2024, and turn it into a “vibrant heritage tourism and community hub” that would include a restaurant, visitor centre, and museum.

Among the funding and fundraising opportunities being pursued by the society was the “Next Great Save” competition, and on Jan. 10 it was announced that Hope Station was one of this year’s 10 finalists. Three other B.C. sites made the list: the Rossland Drill Hall, Turner House in Abbotsford, and the Duncan Train Station.

“It’s quite overwhelming,” said Ryan Ellan, president of the Tashme Historical Society. “I mean it’s very humbling. Because it’s across Canada, so for the Station House to receive that sort of recognition, it’s incredible.”

Ellan said that, should the Station House win, the $50,000 will go towards hiring the project’s heritage architect and engineer. “We’ve already engaged the most qualified, respected heritage architect engineer in B.C. He loves the Station House, so that money will go towards keeping him.”

Voting in 2023’s “Next Great Save” competition runs until Feb. 23, with members of the public able to vote once each day until then. For more information, and to start voting, go to www.nationaltrustcanada.ca.



editorial@accjournal.ca

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