An excerpt from the Winter 2025-26 issue of British Columbia History

1 Light at the Othello Tunnels

Exiting Othello Tunnel No. 1, which is 556 feet (169 metres) long. New wire mesh and barriers to stabilize cliff faces and a resurfaced trail are visible. (Photo: Mark Forsythe)

Seriously damaged by the atmospheric river floods of 2021, the Othello tunnels and bridges and the trails at Coquihalla Canyon Park have now been repaired. Public access was partially restored to three of the five tunnels in summer 2025; full access will return during the new season in April 2026. The $10 million upgrade (supported by Canada’s Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program) includes a newly constructed north bridge, resurfaced trail, and stabilization of the slope, rocks, and tunnels. Work on a new south bridge and tunnel stabilization is now complete.

Once part of the CPR’s Kettle Valley Railway link from the coast to mines in the Kootenay, Boundary, and Similkameen regions, the Othello tunnels were blasted in a perfectly straight line through granite cliffs rising 300 feet (91 metres) above. The railway’s engineering feat meant crossing three mountain ranges and it came to be known as “McCulloch’s Wonder,” named after chief engineer Andrew McCulloch. Opened in 1916, the Coquihalla section operated until 1959 and was abandoned in 1961.

The tunnels remain one of Hope’s main attractions—thanks in part to movies like the Rambo film First Blood. Inside the tunnels and along the railbed you can almost hear steam engines roaring through the spectacular canyon, and if you’re lucky, you might see salmon leaping up the boiling Coquihalla River. For more on Coquihalla Canyon Park, visit the BC Parks website: https://bcparks.ca/coquihalla-canyon-park.

View From Inside Tunnel No. 1. (Photo: Mark Forsythe)

2 Centennial Legacy Fund at Work

(Alder Grove Heritage Society president Tami Quiring with the new scanners. Photo: Mark Forsythe)

Let the scanning begin! A grant from the BCHF Centennial Legacy Fund allowed the Alder Grove Heritage Society to acquire an ET Max scanner and helped them to purchase a Kodak film scanner. The society operates a small museum inside a former BC Telephone Company office near downtown Aldergrove.

3 Whaler’s Shrine is Home

The Whalers’ Shrine ready for its cross-country drive from New York City to Vancouver Island. (Photo: Margaretta James)

“Wonder. Disbelief. Joy. Awe. Relief.” This is the powerful range of emotions from Elder Margaretta James of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation after their Whalers’ Shrine finally returned home from the American Museum of Natural History, in New York City. The shrine has been there since 1905, when it was acquired for anthropologist Franz Boaz under questionable circumstances.

It has taken decades of effort by elders to retrieve the Shrine, also called Whalers’ Washing House, or “cheesum,” which was a place of spiritual preparation before the annual hunt. It includes 88 carved human figures, four carved whale figures, and 16 human skulls. All are now in storage at Yuquot, in Nootka Sound.

Margaretta shared the image of the loaded truck: “I took this photo at AMNH [American Museum of Natural History] awaiting the loading of the Shrine onto the truck. For me, all the elements came together and 120 years to the day, the Shrine was loaded onto the truck and sent on its way. We brought the ancestors with us on our flight.”

The shrine was recognized as a National Historic Site in the 1980s, and the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation is currently collaborating with Parks Canada to create 3-D imaging of the Shrine. Parks Canada assisted with funding and logistics, and a father and son in California with connections to the First Nation helped make the return a reality. The hope is to take it back to the lake where it once stood. Hereditary Chief Mike Maquinna told CBC News, “It’s not just an artifact for us, it is part of our culture.”

4 Vancouver Historical Society Walking Tour = Exclusive Access

The original boardroom from the Georgia Medical-Dental Building. (Photo: Greg Dickson)

When the Georgia Medical-Dental Building was demolished in 1989, a treasure from this art deco structure was spared from the dust and rubble. The 60-year-old tower took fewer than 10 seconds to crumble during its implosion (drawing 50,000 spectators) and fortunately, its mahogany-panelled boardroom had already been removed by the Ratcliffe family, former owners of the building. At the time, the demolition was highly controversial, as the landmark Georgia Medical-Dental Building was Vancouver’s first art deco skyscraper—the same architects, John McCarter and George Nairne, designed the Marine Building the following year.

Since then the boardroom has been meticulously restored and now sits on the fourth floor of Cardero, a modern tower. The building was developed and is partly owned by the same family; the boardroom has been rewired for teleconferencing by firms in the building. The project won a Heritage BC Award in 2022 for Conservation, described as a “feat of architectural archeology.”

What’s new? Participants in a Vancouver Historical Society architecture walking tour got a rare peek inside the boardroom, with its art deco engravings and brass fixtures, last summer with Michael Kluckner and Don Luxton (who was part of the restoration team)—yet another wonderful reason to join the Vancouver Historical Society. Watch for Society events on their website: https://vancouver-historical-society.ca/events.

5 Old Yale Barn Reborn

Before and after: The Old Yale Barn in Murrayville has been transformed. (Photo: Mark Forsythe)

The metal roof was shredded, its siding blown off, and the rafters and floorboards were rotting as the elements ravaged the structure. The historic Old Yale Barn in Langley’s Murrayville district was in dire need of attention, so the Langley Heritage Society took on the restoration in the fall of 2023. It has now been completed.

The reboot of this century-old dairy barn includes a new recycled-rubber roof, plywood framing, fresh roof and support beams, new windows, and rock-solid Hardie Board siding. “It should be good for another 100 years,” says the society’s president Fred Pepin.

The barn sits inside Old Yale Park, which is operated by the Township of Langley, and is a testament to the rich agricultural history in the Fraser Valley; thousands of barns like it are long gone. The old Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway railbed crosses inside the park, another element that makes this spot a fascinating intersection of local history and recreation. The project cost more than $150,000, financed by the society’s trust that has grown from a member donation made about 20 years ago.

Old Yale Barn has now been turned back to the township’s parks and recreation department for public use. Two barn owls occupying the second floor remained throughout the restoration. No doubt they’re now singing its praises.

Mark Forsythe travels through BC and back in time, exploring the unique work of British Columbia Historical Federation members.