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Nelson
KNOWLEDGE OF Nelson
Gold and silver were found in the area in 1867. Following the discovery of silver at nearby Toad Mountain in 1886, the town boomed quickly, leading to incorporation in 1897. Two railways were built to pass through Nelson. Due to its location near transportation corridors, Nelson grew to supply the local mining activity and soon became a transportation and distribution centre for the region.
The town soon matured from a false-fronted boomtown to a sophisticated city. Francis Rattenbury, a noted architect, designed chateau-style civic buildings made of granite, which stand today. By the 1900's, Nelson boasted several fine hotels, a Hudson's Bay Company store and an electric streetcar system. The local forestry and mining industries were well established.
The town built its own hydroelectric generating system in 1910. English immigrants planted lakeside orchards, and Doukhobors from Russia, sponsored by Tolstoy and the Quakers, tilled the valley benchlands.
During the Vietnam War, many American draft dodgers settled in Nelson and the surrounding area. This influx of liberal, mostly educated young people had a significant impact on the area. Much of the relatively mild political polarization that now exists in the area can be traced back to the draft dodgers' arrival.
Nelson's mountainous geography kept growth stunted into the narrow valley bottom. Throughout the 60's and 70's when more prosperous cities were tearing down and rebuilding their downtowns to the design of the time, Nelson merchants 'modernized' their buildings with covers of aluminum siding.
In the early 1980's, Nelson suffered a devastating economic downturn when the local Kootenay Forest Products sawmill was closed. Downtown merchants were already suffering from the opening of a large, regional shopping centre on Nelson's central waterfront, the Chahko Mika Mall. At the time, Victoria and Vancouver were experimenting with historical restorations of their oldest areas, with great success. To save downtown and Baker Street from blight, Nelson quickly followed suit, stripping aluminum facades and restoring the buildings to their original brilliance. Local architect Bob Inwood, one of Nelson's many draft-dodgers, played a major role as a consultant. By 1985, Baker Street was completely transformed. Affirmation of the street's success came when Steve Martin chose to produce his feature film Roxanne almost exclusively in Nelson, using the local firehall as a primary set and many historic locations for others. More broadly, the transformation marked the beginning of Nelson's ongoing transition from a resource-based town to an arts and tourism town.
The town soon matured from a false-fronted boomtown to a sophisticated city. Francis Rattenbury, a noted architect, designed chateau-style civic buildings made of granite, which stand today. By the 1900's, Nelson boasted several fine hotels, a Hudson's Bay Company store and an electric streetcar system. The local forestry and mining industries were well established.
The town built its own hydroelectric generating system in 1910. English immigrants planted lakeside orchards, and Doukhobors from Russia, sponsored by Tolstoy and the Quakers, tilled the valley benchlands.
During the Vietnam War, many American draft dodgers settled in Nelson and the surrounding area. This influx of liberal, mostly educated young people had a significant impact on the area. Much of the relatively mild political polarization that now exists in the area can be traced back to the draft dodgers' arrival.
Nelson's mountainous geography kept growth stunted into the narrow valley bottom. Throughout the 60's and 70's when more prosperous cities were tearing down and rebuilding their downtowns to the design of the time, Nelson merchants 'modernized' their buildings with covers of aluminum siding.
In the early 1980's, Nelson suffered a devastating economic downturn when the local Kootenay Forest Products sawmill was closed. Downtown merchants were already suffering from the opening of a large, regional shopping centre on Nelson's central waterfront, the Chahko Mika Mall. At the time, Victoria and Vancouver were experimenting with historical restorations of their oldest areas, with great success. To save downtown and Baker Street from blight, Nelson quickly followed suit, stripping aluminum facades and restoring the buildings to their original brilliance. Local architect Bob Inwood, one of Nelson's many draft-dodgers, played a major role as a consultant. By 1985, Baker Street was completely transformed. Affirmation of the street's success came when Steve Martin chose to produce his feature film Roxanne almost exclusively in Nelson, using the local firehall as a primary set and many historic locations for others. More broadly, the transformation marked the beginning of Nelson's ongoing transition from a resource-based town to an arts and tourism town.
Chapi