Description of Historic Place

Train Crew's House 1 is a municipally designated site located at 1091 Front Street in Whitehorse. It consists of a one storey wood-frame building constructed in the early 1940s and a six metre buffer of land surrounding the house. It is part of a cluster of historic buildings located on the Yukon River waterfront in downtown Whitehorse near the foot of Main Street and parallel to the railway tracks and the Yukon River.

Heritage Value

The Train Crew's House 1 was designated for its historical and architectural values.

This small wood-frame building is typical of historic White Pass&Yukon Route (WP&YR) staff housing. The building's simple rectangular plan with a small addition with a shed roof off the north wall, high pitched gable roof over the main building, exterior wood cladding, and trim are characteristic elements of vernacular residential buildings constructed in the first half of the twentieth century in Whitehorse. Its wood windows and front door are original. The small yard enclosed with a low wooden fence reflects the domestic qualities of the property, in contrast to the commercial and industrial places along the waterfront.

WP&YR was instrumental in the birth and growth of Whitehorse. It owned the original townsite, and planned and surveyed the street grid and properties. In 1900, the WP&YR railway connected the port at Skagway, Alaska with Whitehorse at the head of navigation for the Yukon River. By 1901 Whitehorse had become an important staging point for passengers and freight entering Yukon. In addition to operational facilities, WP&YR provided accommodations for key personnel. The company's holdings on the waterfront at one time included offices, residences, warehouses, workshops, wharves, shipyards and the railway operations. The nature of the city as a company town and vital transportation centre is represented by Train Crew's House 1 and nearby historic structures. The proximity of the house to the operational facilities initially provided convenient seasonal accommodation for employees. From the late 1950s until 1993, the house was occupied. As part of a cluster of historic structures along First Avenue it is a reminder of the vitality and historic importance of the Whitehorse waterfront.

Sources
"The White Pass and Yukon Railway Depot, Whitehorse, and Associated Structures: A Structural History". Midnight Arts, Heritage Branch, Yukon Government, 1998.
Historic Sites Unit, Cultural Services Branch, Yukon Government file 3736 50 18

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements include:
- the siting on the waterfront and its orientation parallel to First Avenue and the WP&YR railway tracks
- the simple plan, modest size, wood-frame construction and exterior cladding
- architectural elements such as the gable roof, attached shed, door and window pattern, historic wood windows and trim
- lawn enclosed by a low wooden fence