The Federal Building

A faded rose in
our old downtown, she seeks a
new lease on life soon.

~ carliewired

The Federal Building is a wood frame building from 1900 that was built on the original main street of Kamloops. It is the last survivor of the town's first business centre. It was constructed to house the Post Office, Customs, Dominion Lands and Titles, Weights and Measures, Indian Affairs and an Armoury.

In 1965, the building passed to the Kamloops Men's Christian Hostel. In 2011 this group offered the building to the City of Kamloops for the price of $1.00. Instead, the Canadian Mental Health Association accepted the offer with the understanding that the building should be kept as a heritage building. Today, the Heritage Commission (which includes me) toured the facility once again as the CMHA has just listed the building for sale for $349,000. Our commission is very concerned that this property should be preserved in perpetuity. We feel the need to connect with other like-minded groups in order to protect and preserve this building. The Federal Building, as yet, does not officially have a heritage designation that might protect it from being demolished. She is certainly no 'silk purse' at this point and will need a big renovation in order to attract suitable tenants. We can only hope to draw attention to her plight.