Kootenay Electric Supply and Construction Co. Ltd. - Nelson, BC - 1900
Posted by: 
BK-Hunters
N 49° 29.556 W 117° 17.553
11U E 478813 N 5482259
Quick Description: Kootenay Electric Supply & Construction Co. Ltd. placed this ad in the Saturday Morning, October 6, 1900 edition of The Nelson Tribune.
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 8/4/2013 1:18:46 PM
Waymark Code: WMHQCM
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Long Description:With electrification came, naturally, electrical supply and construction companies. The Kootenays were one of the early adopters of electricity because of:
A: the need for motive power in the dozens of hardrock mines and the several smelters in the area.
B: the ready availability of hydro power from creeks and the Kootenay River, on the southern bank of which Nelson came to be.
In 1900 Kootenay Electric Supply was housed in The Houston Block, at 601 to 607 Baker Street. Originally a bank building, the Houston Block was commissioned by John Houston and designed by architect A.E. Hodgins, not a stranger to these parts. Hodgins chose local brick and local marble as his building materials. Other than an abundance of marble at the entrance, including marble columns, the use of the material was kept to tasteful levels.
John Houston was, at that time, owner, editor and publisher of The Nelson Tribune, and, in 1897 when Nelson was incorporated, its first mayor.
The building is currently home to a Remax Realty outlet and an insurance provider on the ground floor, with offices on the upper floor.
From a Walking Tour of
Nelson’s Heritage Buildings, number 22.
John Houston commissioned architect A.E. Hodgins to design and construct this Victorian block. Originally housing a bank, this building still contains two large concrete walk–in vaults. Notice
the double arched entrance with its columns of locally quarried marble. The Houston Block received Nelson’s Heritage Building of the Year awarded for 1982.