Nelson - American Courthouses

Nelson is named for Hugh Nelson, who was the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

Surrounding Courthouses:

N – Nakusp and Kaslo

E – Cranbrook

S – Castlegar

W – Penticton and Kelowna

Location: Nelson is located in the south central part of the Province.

Judicial District: Kootenay Judicial District

Judicial Centre: Nelson

Law Courts – Nelson

Location: 320 Ward Street / Front Street

Built: 1907 – 1909

Style: Beaux Arts Chateau

Architect: Francis Mawson Rattenbury of Victoria

Contractor: W G Gillett of Nelson

Description: The building faces east and is a three story stone structure. The building is located in the centre of Nelson. The building has a high hipped roof, tower with conical cap, gables and paired windows. The southeast corner has a large square tower with a small round tower with conical roof rising from the second story. The east front has a large arched entrance with recessed doors. On the second story are three framed windows. The hipped roof is slate. Virginia Creeper vines cover the building. In the interior is an entrance lobby between the first and second stories with a wide wood stairs ascending to the third story. The large Supreme Court courtroom is located on the west side of the third story and has a high ceiling and ornate plaster and wood-work. On the west side of the second story is a small Supreme Court courtroom. At the northeast corner of the first story is the Provincial Court courtroom. The building houses the Supreme Court and the Provincial Court and is named as the Nelson Law Courts.

Note: The cost of construction was $109,145. The architect, F M Rattenbury, also designed the British Columbia Parliament Building and the Empress Hotel in Victoria. The Contractor W G 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.

Note: The previous courthouse was designed by A M Muir.

Kootenay Judicial District Courthouses:

Castlegar, Cranbrook, Creston, Fernie, Golden, Greenwood, Grand Forks, Kaslo, Nakusp and Rossland