Aerial photography of the station on the move.
Image Credit: Facebook - Christian Ward
February 18, 2024 - 6:00 AM
After years under threat of demolition, the historic Hope Station House was moved to a new, safe location this week.
Erica Ward started lobbying for the station house’s protection back in 2020 when she first heard about the District of Hope’s plan to tear it down.
“I moved here with my husband in 2016 and the station house was one of the things that appealed to us about moving to Hope. It was a building that when we came into town we saw on the corner and it’s this beautiful old building and we wondered about it,” she said.
The train station crossing a bridge.
Image Credit: Facebook - Christian Ward
Ward wrote to the district and asked them to consider the benefits of keeping the building around and repurposing it rather than tearing it down.
“This was the second oldest building left in town after the church and we felt it would be such a shame to see it go. It had so much potential we wanted to find out surely there is something else that could be done,” she said.
Ward said the petition to save the station house got more than 3,000 signatures.
After years of effort from countless local residents a plan was formed to save the historic station house and move it to its new location behind the information centre on Water Avenue.
Another shot of the station going down the highway.
Image Credit: Facebook - Christian Ward
This is the second time the building has been moved in order to preserve it, and the same company moved it both times.
“It was moved in 1985, and it was very cool that it was the same company, the Nickel Brothers, that moved the building back then, and they obviously did a great job both times,” she said.
Ward said a huge crowd gathered to see the building transported.
“We’re delighted. It was a really proud and emotional moment being there,” she said. “We've met some really good people through this process, there’s been so many people that have worked so hard on this, more than I could name.”
The station rounding a tight corner.
Image Credit: Facebook - Christian Ward
The process of moving a 6,400 square foot building is technical, but Ward said she wasn’t nervous despite watching the crews overcome challenges.
“One of the sections of the journey there was a four inch clearance for the building. Seeing a building that size and a four inch clearing between these two posts was kind of awe inspiring. I wasn’t nervous, they were obviously doing a great job,” she said.
Ward and her husband Christian wrote a brochure about the building's history to help their lobbying efforts to save it.
The station was originally built in 1916 as the railway station for Hope. Over the years with the declining mining and forestry industries in the area, along with reduced freight and passenger traffic after the construction of the Coquihalla Highway, the station was slated for demolition in 1985.
A different angle of the station going around a corner.
Image Credit: Facebook - Christian Ward
The residents of Hope rallied together back then in the same fashion as they did today, and transformed the station house into a hub for arts and culture.
The station house was the home of the Hope’s Artist Guild and eventually the Hope Station House Community Arts and Heritage Society. The building was a place for artists and musicians in the community to gather.
“Seeing it in its new home and thinking about the important history that has been saved, so many important stories for our community, the region, and the province. There are so many things this building can do for our community in the future,” Ward said.
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