Description of Historic Place

The CPR Railway Station, which has been relocated to its current site near Rocky Point Park on the Port Moody waterfront, is a standardized wooden station design with a partial second storey. The Station has now been adapted for use as a community museum. Railway tracks have been laid down to recreate the spatial relationship of its original function. A vegetable/flower garden representing the customary appearance of early CPR railway stations has been established on the grounds, and a restored 1921 "Glen" style CPR rail car has been placed south of the station. The building has been accurately restored to its original appearance and contains a significant artifact collection.

Heritage Value

Pacific Railway, which generated the original settlement of Port Moody. Chosen as the Western Terminus of the long awaited transcontinental railway, for a brief period Port Moody was the scene of intense speculation, which subsided when the rail line was extended to Vancouver. This circa 1907 station, which replaced the original 1882 Western Terminus station, represents the importance of the CPR railway to the building of a nation, as well as to this local community. From 1907 to 1971, it was also the entry point for many people beginning a new life in Port Moody.

The Station is also significant as an example of the standardized station designs developed by the CPR during the Edwardian era to facilitate their ongoing expansion in western Canada. Built according to the Company's standard station plan No. 9, it is a typical example of the railway stations that dotted the country in the heyday of the railroads. It is believed to be one of only three surviving No. 9 stations in Canada.

The heritage value of the Station also lies in its interpretive value. It represents an important cultural feature for the public interpretation of Port Moody's history. In 1945, the CPR moved the station closer to downtown Port Moody by sliding it along the tracks to the foot of Queens Street, where it was used for passenger service until 1971. In 1978 it was purchased by the Port Moody Heritage Society and moved again, by truck, to its current location on Murray Street, where it was placed on a new foundation with a full basement. The station building became a museum in 1983 and contains a significant artifact collection that fulfills a strong educational and community building role.

The building's historic and aesthetic value to the community was recognized when it was one of the first three buildings in Port Moody that were designated as municipal heritage sites in 1978, demonstrating an early commitment to heritage conservation.

Source: Heritage Planning Files, City of Port Moody

Character-Defining Elements

The value of the CPR Railway Station lies in its association with the Canadian Key elements that define the heritage character of the CPR Station include:
- spatial relationship to railway tracks
- low narrow form, situated parallel to the tracks
- standardized, utilitarian form, style and use of materials
- prominent roof with cedar shingle roofing
- projecting ticket office bay on the facade facing the tracks, with banked windows with transoms
-"live-in" design with residential area on second floor that accommodated the Station Master
- original exterior features such as the wooden siding at ground level with cedar shingle cladding above, cornerboards and trim, prominent eave brackets, broad overhanging eaves and wooden doors
- double-hung wooden-sash windows, with multi-paned upper sash (4-over-1 and 6-over-1 configuration)
- original interior layout with original finishing such as wooden trim, wood floors, interior doors, etc.
- the 1921 CPR rail car