Description of Historic Place

This historic place consists of the original, 30 x 150 ft, Canadian Pacific Railway Freight Shed at 57 Van Horne Street South, Cranbrook, B.C. The CPR Freight Shed is owned by the Cranbrook Archives, Museum and Landmarks Society and it sits on City-owned lots.

Heritage Value

The CPR Freight Shed has historic and social value for its connection to early community and railway development in Cranbrook.

Built in 1898, the CPR Freight Shed has historic value as one of the first Canadian Pacific Railroad buildings constructed in Cranbrook. The large 30 x 150 ft size of this CPR build confirmed Cranbrook's faith in its future as a rail transportation hub. It was built separated from the station and was for the storage of freight arriving or leaving Cranbrook. The original size and exterior structure are valued for being largely unchanged.

The CPR Freight Shed also has historic and social value for its later uses by Burn's Lumber Company, as an Antique Store and, currently, by the Cranbrook History Centre. The building was purchased for the Cranbrook History Centre expansion in 1994. It was moved a few hundred metres north in 1999 and placed on a permanent concrete basement. The space is now attached to the Cranbrook History Centre and is used to house and showcase public museum displays, temporary exhibits, historic model railways, paleontology displays and gallery spaces. Conversions have left the exterior largely unchanged.

SOURCE: City of Cranbrook, City Hall Administration

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of this building and lot include the following:

- Painted clapboard siding, painted in Canadian Pacific Railroad colouring
- Imposing original Canadian Pacific Railroad building placed alongside Van Horne Street through Cranbrook
- Original 30' x 150' size, exterior largely unchanged
- Positioned beside Canadian Pacific rail tracks and close to the original old Cranbrook Canadian Pacific Railroad Station site
- Clear visibility to highway traffic driving along Crowsnest Highway #3, between Alberta and the coast
- A prominent visual balance to offset the long train shed roof constructed on the south side of the Cranbrook History Centre main building
- Exterior memorial windows installed and paid for by public donations.