Description of Historic Place

The Post Office is a one-storey flat-roofed brick building with a parapet, located within the grouping of three institutional buildings - the Municipal Hall, Court House and Post Office - on Hudson Street in downtown Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

Heritage Value

The Post Office is historically significant as an indication of the presence of the federal government in the (then) Village of Salmon Arm, and because it marks the community attaining the social and economic status it had sought for 50 years since the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. Although the contract for construction was awarded in 1935, the project was plagued with delays and opened without fanfare in 1937. The building has adapted to the growing city over the years, with a 1948 lobby renovation to accommodate an additional 224 postal boxes. After the Post Office function was moved to a new location in 1974, the building continued to function as a valued social and cultural landmark in the historic hub. It was the location of the Okanagan Regional Library for almost twenty years, and currently houses the Shuswap Art Gallery Association and the Shuswap District Arts Council offices.

The building is important for its design by architect Thomas W. Fuller, son of Thomas Fuller, Chief Architect of the Dominion of Canada, who designed the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. Following in his father's footsteps, T.W. Fuller was employed by the federal Department of Public Works in Ottawa, designing many notable public buildings throughout Canada. He filled the position of Chief Architect from 1927 to 1937.

The Post Office, together with the Court House and Municipal Hall, have historical value through their connection as three institutions representing three levels of government in close proximity to one another. As a group, the formal relationship of the buildings to one another, at the intersection of Hudson Street and Shuswap Avenue in the core of the downtown, is important for its representation of a civic precinct of buildings with related historical and current uses.

Also important is the asymmetrical siting of the building in the southwest corner of the Agnes McGuire property. The front of the building faces southwest at the corner of Hudson Avenue and McLeod Street (created in the first city survey in 1906) in an area of the city where earlier streets (parallel or perpendicular with the lakeshore and railway tracks) meet the later survey grid.

Built by local contractor William Reader, the building is important aesthetically for its rendition of a classic post office form in local materials, possibly built from Enderby brick. The presence of the basement reflects the needs of a postal operation, while the square massing, flat roof, parapet and raised entry are Art Deco influenced and have a restrained design typical of small-town federal government postal structures in the 1930s.

Source: City of Salmon Arm, Development Services Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Post Office include its:

Site:
- location in an enclave on Hudson Avenue in downtown Salmon Arm
- asymmetrical siting with the front door facing the intersection of Hudson Avenue and McLeod Street

Building:
- square floor plan and cubic massing
- Art Deco characteristics such as flat roof with raised stepped brick parapet and horizontal band detail
- brick building material
- arched wood windows
- front door above grade with entry stairs