Heritage

On this page, you will find information about the District's heritage program as well as learn about heritage sites in our community.

In 2021, Council approved a Heritage Designation Bylaw and designated Sicamous' first heritage property - the Red Barn.  This was the first step in formally recognizing the value of local heritage, but the less restrictive form of heritage recognition - a Community Heritage Register - did not exist. In order to fill this gap and to respond to a request from the public, a community led initiative created the Sicamous Community Heritage Registry.

The heritage register was established July 26, 2023 and recognizes 7 properties, including Bruhn House and the Red Barn. The document includes an 'A List' and a 'B List' of sites for future consideration and possible recognition through inclusion in the register.

The Sicamous Community Heritage Registry document was prepared by a Committee of the Sicamous & District Museum & Historical Society. Learn more about how the Register was developed by viewing the Story Map, Presentation, and Staff Report. Listen to the presentation made by Museum Committee Chair Barb Davidson on YouTube June 28, 2023.

The Sicamous Community Heritage Registry is an official listing of properties within the community that are identified as having heritage value. Scroll down to view the online version of the register below.

Inclusion of a property in a Heritage Register doesn't constitute Heritage Designation or any other form of heritage protection.

Properties recognized for their heritage value can be altered and may even be demolished. A Heritage Alteration Permit is NOT required. The usual building permit process applies. In extreme cases, issuance of a permit could be temporarily delayed while options are explored with the owner.  

Sicamous Community Heritage Registry

A List Potential Sites

B List Potential Sites

Themes & Values

 

Sicamous' first designated heritage property is the Red Barn. Heritage Designation affords protection of the buildings features identified as having heritage value or character. It also provides eligibility for grants and other funding to restore and maintain the building. 

Designated heritage properties are protected and subject to an alternative permitting process. This means that the appearance of a designated building can not be changed without a Heritage Alteration Permit. This ensures that distinguishing features are conserved.

The specific types of exterior work on a heritage building subject to an alternation permit are:

  • additions, including fire escapes;
  • enclosure of any part of the building;
  • raising of a structure;
  • alterations to the original façade and cladding;
  • changing the door or window dimensions, placement or materials; and
  • removal or alteration of any brickwork, woodwork, or siding, including chimney or finials.

Specific exterior work NOT subject to an alteration permit includes:

  • repairs to gutters;
  • maintenance of stairs;
  • removal of finish applied over original exterior siding (eg. stucco, asbestos);
  • repainting.

Owners of designated heritage property should consult the following resources when planning alteration projects:

 

Interested in Heritage Designation?

Generally speaking, if your property is listed on the Sicamous Community Heritage Registry or is listed as a potential site, it is a candidate for protection through designation.  The potential heritage value or character of a property is assessed by considering:

  • Themes & Values outlined by the Sicamous Community Heritage Registry
  • Architectural criteria such as style/type, design, construction, or builder/designer.
  • Historical criteria such as association with a historical person or event or association with broad historical patterns of local history including important transportation routes, social or economic trends.
  • Integrity - for example, if the proposed heritage property were a building would changes effect its style, design, construction or character and in this case, benefit from protection?

Applications to the District for Heritage Designation are guided by the heritage Designation & Standards of Maintenance Bylaw (Bylaw 991, 2021).

Check back soon!

1226 Riverside Avenue (The Red Barn)

The Red Barn Arts Centre is a one-story, wood frame, vernacular style building situated on the west side of Riverside Avenue, between Finlayson Street and Young Crescent, in the central area of Sicamous.

The Red Barn is a designated heritage site subject to protection provisions of Bylaw 991, 2022

Heritage Details

 

20 Bruhn Road (Bruhn House)

The Bruhn House, originally constructed in 1922, is a 1 ½ storey single family residential home built of wood frame construction in the Craftsman style on historic CPR Hill in Sicamous. The house is located above Shuswap Lake on a steeply sloping lot at the northern terminus of Bruhn Road, between the main east / west Canadian Pacific Railway line, (downhill to the north) and the TransCanada Highway, (uphill to the south). The recognition applies to the house, woodshed, gardens, and grounds. The house has unparalleled views of Shuswap Lake.

Heritage Details

16 Bruhn Road (Bruhn Office)

The Bruhn Office is an 1,120 square foot building that was constructed in the late 1920’s on a steeply sloping lot in Sicamous’ CPR Hill neighbourhood. It was purposely built as a three room office for the R.W. Bruhn Lumber Company. It sits on 6,028 square foot Lot 8, fronting onto the main CPR line, and has commanding views of the beach below and Shuswap Lake beyond. Around 1948 the Bruhn office was converted into a single family dwelling. The porches and concrete foundations were added in 1965.

Heritage Details

1117 Eagle Pass Way (Eagle Valley Schoolhouse)

The existing building measures 24.5 ft x 61 ft, or approximately 1,495 sq. ft. It is currently located within District of Sicamous owned Finlayson Centennial Park where it was relocated in 1967. At the time of its relocation, it was placed on a new foundation; a layer of stucco and its associated wire mesh was applied over the original wood siding; the original windows were removed; and the main entry door was relocated to the opposite end of the structure. Two enclosed entry porches did not survive the relocation.

Heritage Details

1426 Boutwell Avenue (Rauma Finnish Sauna)

The Rauma Sauna is a two room authentic dry heat Finnish Sauna built in 1935. It is the only surviving outbuilding built as part of a larger farm property. It is located on the south bank of the Eagle River at the terminus of what is now Boutwell Avenue.

Heritage Details

Shuswap Lakebed (Wreck of the SS Whitesmith)

In the days before establishment of a road network, the Shuswap Lake System was the major mode of transportation both in its frozen and unfrozen state.
The SS Whitesmith was the last steamship to be built on Shuswap Lake. She “… took over from the last sternwheeler and provided weekly ferry service on Shuswap Lake from Sicamous and Salmon Arm to outlying communities (Eagle Bay, Seymour Arm, Anstey Arm) during the Depression, 1930-1935. Over the next few years its service was spotty. In 1939 Whitesmith was recorded as unfit for service.” Her hull was stripped and tied off to pilings at the old CPR coal dock below Sicamous’ CPR Hill.

Heritage Details