That appears to be a '40 Ford parked out front. Both "then" and "now"
photos were taken from across Ward Street, looking west south west.
Nelson's Courthouse
"The new Court House is by long odds the handsomest building in Nelson and is one to which the people of the city can point with pride."
Nelson Daily News, November 29, 1908
Nelson's Courthouse is an historic landmark, as well as an active hall of justice. Few Nelson buildings have been a subject for photographers as often, or have inspired such lasting community pride.
The building was designed by F.M. Rattenbury, famous for the British Columbia Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria. Rattenbury used a composite of Romanesque and Chateau styles to create a structure of stately beauty combined with an imposing strength appropriate to its judiciary nature.
Contractor W.C. Gillett, who was mayor of Nelson from 1906 to 1907, used Kootenay Marble quarried from his own Kaslo site for the construction. He employed British Columbia Douglas fir for the interior woodwork, and the roof was constructed of slate taken from the west coast.
A building long admired for its fine design, the Nelson Court House stands as a testament to beauty and strength in a community that takes pride in its own living history.
From the Sign
