It was a historic day in Hope after the Hope Station House successfully made its move to its new location Thursday (Feb. 15) morning.
Cheers, clapping, and drumbeats from Taiko drummers filled the air as the historic building — which was being moved by industrial movers Nickel Bros. — finally parked in its new location right next to the Hope, Cascades & Canyons Visitor Centre. Despite the cold and strong winds, hundreds of people lined the moving route from Old Hope-Princeton Road, going down Highway 1, and ending at Water Avenue.
The move was a much anticipated highlight in the community. Over the past week, people couldn’t stop talking about the move, as they asked questions about its starting time, planned route, and where they could watch it online.
That same energy was very much present during the move with people in the crowd expressing excitement over finally having a space for the Hope museum, in addition to saving and utilizing such an important piece of Hope’s history.
This energy was further carried by the presence of the Taiko drummers, who performed sporadically as the building made its way to its new home.
Starting at 9 a.m., all eyes were on the Nickel Bros. team, as they prepared the building and began the journey to 919 Water Ave. Despite encountering some issues with tree branches and street signs, the building was able to be on the road and halfway to its new home by around 10 a.m.
During the move, the team, led by their operations manager and company president, Jeremy Nickel, took it slow and made sure to stop when needed.
Finally, at around 11 a.m., relief and cheers could be heard as the building finally landed in its new location.
The move was completed two hours ahead of schedule.
The moment was especially momentous for Tashme Historical Society’s (THS) president, Ryan Ellan, and co-chair, Laura Saimoto, who were both present for the entirety of the move. While both Ellan and Saimoto expressed their excitement at the Station House’s “landing,” they also made it clear that this was just the first major step in the building’s planned future.
THS, who owns the building, intends to repurpose the building into a “vibrant heritage tourism and community hub,” one that will be shared with all of Hope’s communities and history. This includes Hope’s logging, Chinese-Canadian, Japanese-Canadian, Indo-Canadian, and First Nation communities.
In addition to THS, the District of Hope’s Mayor Victor Smith, Coun. Zachary Wells, and Coun. Scott Medlock were also on site. Smith and Wells were assisting the Nickel Bros. team and Medlock was part of the crowd, witnessing the move.
The Visitor Centre’s staff was also present, helping with the move.
Watch for in-depth coverage in the Feb. 23 edition of the Hope Standard.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Historic Hope Station House officially on the move