Description of Historic Place

The First Nanaimo Scout Hut is a one-storey vernacular Rustic style building located in a municipal park adjacent to downtown Nanaimo. The historic place is confined to the building and plantings immediately surrounding the building.

Heritage Value

Built in 1930, the First Nanaimo Scout Hut is an excellent example of a vernacular adaptation of the Rustic style. Inspired by rustic park lodges, this style, with its emphasis on simplicity, use of natural materials and sympathy with the landscape, was particularly appropriate for the Boy Scouts whose basic principles include self-reliance and respect for the integrity of the natural world. Although the building has been altered over time, its form is essentially intact and it continues to serve the purpose for which it was built.

The First Nanaimo Scout Hut is a highly visible symbol of the scouting movement in Nanaimo and, by extension, the continuing importance of local organizations to the vitality and richness of community life.

The Scout Hut's value resides in its prominent location on a high rocky outcrop in a municipal park. The Scout Hut is complemented by its forest-like setting and offers commanding views of the city from its generous side verandahs.

Source: City of Nanaimo, Development Services Department, file #6800-20-H01-02/445 Comox Road

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements of the First Nanaimo Scout Hut include: -all the elements of Rustic architecture including the low, horizontal form, simple massing, log cladding, peeled log detailing, elaborate log truss gable screen, covered front porch and original vertical skirting boards.

-the building's location on a high rocky outcrop, surrounded by mature trees, in a municipal park.