Kamloops - American Courthouses

Kamloops is named for the version of the Shuswap word “Tk’emlups” meaning “meeting of the waters”.

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

Judicial District: Yale Judicial District

Old Courthouse – Kamloops

Location: 1 Seymour Street West / First Avenue

Built: 1907 – 1909

Style: Edwardian Baroque

Architect: Dalton & Eveleigh

Contractor: Broley and Martin of Fernie and Vancouver

Description: The building faces north and is a three story red coloured brick and stone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds on the west side of the centre of Kamloops. The large courtroom is located on the second story.

Law Courts – Kamloops

Location: 455 Columbia Street / 4th Avenue

Built: 1982 – 1984

Style: Mordern

Architect: Aubrey Leitch Owen & House Architects of Kamloops

Contractor: Kerkhoff Construction Limited of Chilliwack

Description: The building faces north and is a four story concrete, buff coloured brick and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the centre of Kamloops. The north front has a projecting two story section with exterior stairs. The windows are horizontal. The roof line is flat. The building is named as the Kamloops Law Courts and houses the Supreme Court and the Provincial Court.

History: The first court house, a small white-washed log cabin, was erected in 1873 at the west end of town. With the subsequent railway survey and construction in 1885, a new wood-frame court house was built at the corner of Victoria Street and First Avenue to serve the growing town site. Quickly outgrown by the burgeoning population, a grant of $20,000 for a new court house and offices was issued by the province in 1907. The third courthouse and perimeter wall were completed in 1909, and the Land Registry added to the rear in 1911. The cost of construction of the third courthouse was $79,403. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1982 to 1984.

Note: British Columbia Court of Appeals also sits in Vancouver and Victoria.

Yale Judicial District Courthouses:

Kelowna, Merritt, Nicola, Oliver, Penticton, Princeton, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm and Vernon