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Step back through time with a walking tour of our city’s magnificent heritage buildings
Sunday, July 3rd, 2005 by GetawayBC.com
What better way to spend part of a lovely day in a strange city than strolling through its quiet streets and seeing examples of architecture that are as alien to the 21st century as horse-drawn carriages?
In Revelstoke it doesn’t matter what the season is; you can do that as easily in winter as in summer and virtually every century-old building and home you see not only has a unique history but a name to boot.
This city of about 8,000 people boasts one of the finest collections of 19th and early 20th century homes you will find anywhere in Western Canada.
But this isn’t a theme park – but a living community. All of the homes and commercial are occupied.
The community prides itself on the way it has maintained its physical heritage and, in fact, encourages homeowners to protect and showcase their aging homes through an annual Heritage Awards program. The awards recognize the accomplishments of both residential homeowners and commercial building owners.
Finding your way around this city nestled along the banks of the mighty Columbia River is easy.
Revelstoke is laid out in a grid pattern and, in general, streets run North-South while avenues run East-West. But if you get lost, never fear! Just ask one of our friendly residents for directions and they can point you in the right direction.
Finding exquisite examples of Victorian and Georgian residential architecture is dead easy using a handy guide developed by the City of Revelstoke’s Community Heritage Commission.
The guide is available at the Chamber of Commerce’s Enterprise Centre at 204 Campbell Avenue and at its main Visitor Info Centre at 110 Mackenzie Avenue right across from the bandstand at Grizzly Plaza.
It contains maps for three distinct walking tours and colour photos and thumbnail histories of the homes and historic buildings in question.
The Courthouse Walk introduces visitors to the beautiful Revelstoke Courthouse, which was inaugurated in 1919 by then-Prince of Wales Edward – yes, the man who gave up the throne of England and the British Empire for the love of American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
The Mackenzie Walk takes you down beautiful Mackenzie Avenue from Grizzly Plaza, through the city’s heart to its maple-lined far end overlooking Columbia River.
The third stroll is the Selkirk Walk. It starts at the intersection of Mackenzie Avenue and Sixth Street and takes you along that lovely tree-lined street to McArthur Avenue, takes a loop around a lovely little block of homes between Fifth and Fourth Streets, then East along Fifth for a block before it zig-zags to Robson Avenue, Fourth Street and Vernon Avenue to Victoria Road before taking you back to Mackenzie.
What will you see on these self-guided tours into the architectural past? The photos on these and subsequent pages will give you a glimpse of some Revelstoke’s hidden gems – gems you can discover for yourselves.;