Work continues to restore Dawson City's old CIBC building

Restoration work on the gold rush-era building — once the workplace of poet Robert Service — is finished for this year. But there's still a lot more to do before the building

The town bought the gold rush-era building in 2013 and has been working to fix it up

Mike Rudyk · CBC News · Posted: Aug 18, 2018 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 18, 2018

The building on Front Street sat vacant for decades before the town bought it in 2013. Restoration has been ongoing in recent years. (Mike Rudyk)

If you visit Dawson City, Yukon, you can't miss it — a two-storey building on Front Street, next to the historic sternwheeler, the S.S. Keno.

At first glance, you might not realize the building's historical significance. But ask any local, and they will tell you.

The former CIBC building dates to the Gold Rush, and was once the workplace of poet Robert Service. It sat vacant for decades before the town bought it in 2013 for $170,000. The goal is to restore it to what it might have looked like a century ago.

'There was asbestos in the building with the insulation and stuff, and that all had to be removed,' said Cory Bellmore, the town's chief administrative officer. (Philippe Morin)

The historic building has some unusual features.

"The pressed-metal siding on the building is extremely rare in Canada, and important to the colour and flavour and history of Dawson City's historic streetscape," says Alex Summerville, the executive director of the Dawson Museum.

For almost the entire 20th century, Dawsonites did their day-to-day banking at the Front Street building.

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Now the town has been doing restoration work. It has spent a lot of money this year on renovations, with contributions from Parks Canada, the Yukon government, and federal gas tax funds.

Asbestos and roof repairs

The town says $417,500 was spent this year, to remove asbestos and fix the roof.

"There was asbestos in the building with the insulation and stuff, and that all had to be removed. With that substance and that stuff in the building, nobody could go in there — so we had to have that done first," said Cory Bellmore, the town's chief administrative officer.

The town says it spent nearly $417,500 working on the building this year. (Mike rudyk)

"It needed to be done because there was water leaking down inside the building and causing further damage so it was just a regular roof repair to stop any further damage in the building," Bellmore said.

Bellmore says restoration work will continue on the building next summer. She says the town will look at what the next steps will be to restore a rich part of Dawson's history.

The building was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988. It's not clear if or when the town might eventually open the building to the public.