Kaslo City Hall - (250)-353-2311

history of Kaslo village hall and restoration progress

Kaslo City or Municipal Hall is a National Historic Site. It was awarded National Historic status because it is the oldest remaining municipal hall on the British Columbia mainland. Built in 1898, the hall was designed by the architectural firm of A.C. Ewart and Alexander Carrie of Nelson. Although it is in need of restoration and conservation, the building has undergone relatively few alterations and provides an excellent example of an important public building constructed of wood. It is interesting to note that in 2010, the Village of Kaslo adopted a Wood First policy which states all municipally owned buildings be constructed mainly of wood, in recognition not only of one of BC's prime resources, but also the importance of wood in the history of our community.
The City Hall is currently unoccupied and undergoing a complete restoration. The City Hall committee was initiated by the Village Council and was made up of a group of volunteers. These passionate and dedicated people got the ball rolling and several projects were started to get the restoration project on its way. The City Hall committee is at present a standing committee of Council.

To date, the windows and doors have been refurbished, thanks to a grant from Heritage Legacy. The windows have also been changed to geothermal windows as the Village Hall has become energy efficient with the installation of geothermal heat. Grants from Parks Canada and Columbia Basin Trust have enabled the building to be sprinkled. One of the multi purposes of the building is the home of the Kaslo Public Library. Construction forced the Library to temporarily re-locate but they are eagerly awaiting "coming home" in early September.

Council hired Chris Temple as the Project Manager to oversee works and his expertise is helping the Village move forward with this "labour of love" for its' citizens.