The Fernie and District Arts Council has produced a detailed and fascinating story of The Arts Station, complete with a historical time-line tie-in.

“This building has played an important role in Fernie for decades. It served for nearly its first 70 years as Fernie’s hub of transportation of both people and goods and now for more than 30 years as its centre for the arts,” the story begins.

Learn about the history of Fernie and area and of The Arts Station.

Lead image: The CPR Station is newly built of wood by contractor McDermot and Company, at the cost of $20,000. Due to the destruction by the fires, the station is the third that CPR built on the site. Station is classified as a Special Type, Kootenay Division, Cranbrook Subdivision. The Victoria Times describes the new station as “…handsome and very commodious. The waiting rooms, baggage and express offices are large and airy, and the agents’ and operator’s quarters all that could be desired.” The majority of rebuilt structures throughout the city are constructed of brick, the station being the anomaly. Its rapid yet resilient construction demonstrated that rail service was essential for Fernie’s general economic and societal development. Photo Credit: Fernie Museum Archives-3284

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