Alert Bay Visitor Info Centre, formerly the old Municipal Hall.
Incorporated in 1946, the Village of Alert Bay's first mayor was Mr. Charlie Gordon. Echoing the Municipal Hall's recent past as a fire hall, this building continues to feature a tower in which the fire hoses were formerly hung to dry. In 1986/87 the space that once housed the fire truck was renovated into what is now the Visitor Infocentre and Art Gallery. A collection of 62 paintings by artist Chris Nancarrow, depicts a year and a day of life along Front Street and Fir Street (Alert Bay's primary thorough fare).

You will also find the Alert Bay Public Library/Museum located in the old municipal hall office. The museum and archival collection includes more than 6,000 catalogued historical photographs, some of which are organized into historical exhibits on St. George's Hospital and on Alert Bay's various churches, as well as paintings and carvings by such renowned Kwawaka'wakw artists as Charlie James, Henry Speck and Mungo Martin (among others). See a Virtual Tour

The old Court House building was constructed in 1923. it was designed for the B.C. Provincial Police, complete with living quarters, office and lock-up. The duties of the Provincial Police force were assumed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1950. Currently this building serves as a Doctor's office.

Nimpkish Hotel
Originally built on the Nimpkish Reserve in 1920, the Nimpkish Hotel moved to its current location shortly thereafter. The hotel's owners, the Beswick family, decided to relocate the building by barge when their application for a license to operate the beer parlour and hotel was denied as long as they remained on the reserve.

Alert Bay Shipyards
Dated to 1908, the original shipyard was started by Spencer Huson, son of one of Alert Bay's first settlers. An adjacent machine shop was built and operated by Dick May who arrived in Alert Bay
c. 1920. The boat shed was originally owned by a family of Japanese boat builders until their forced deportation from the coast in accordance with the Canadian Government's Relocation Policy
of W.W. II.

Alert Bay Lodge, formerly the United Church
Currently a combined youth and elder hostel this building was formerly the Alert Bay United Church. Constructed from a panabode kit, the church was built in 1961 with a loan plus a grant from the Board of Home Missions. During much of the 1980's the church was without a resident minister. The congregation was served, until 1989, by Reverend Bill eisner, who would fly his own small plane to various communities, such as Alert Bay and the Mahatta River, to provide servies and religious counseling. By the latter part of the decade the congregation had dwindled to a mere trickle and the United Church decided to pull out of Alert Bay altogether. Renovations for the conversion of the church into an accommodation took place in 1991.

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St. George's Hospital and Nurses' Residence
St. George's Hospital was lost to fire June 10, 2004. St. George's is the third hospital building to occupy this locale. The original hospital, constructed in 1909, was lost to fire just fourteen years later, By 1925 this building had been replaced by what eventually became the nurses' residence, The current building, formerly the RCAF hospital in Fort Rupert, was purchased following W.W. II and hence floated to Alert Bay in sections. As of January 1947, the Columbia Court Mission Hospital Society ceded control to the St.Geroge's Hospital Society. The new hospital is behind the U'mista Cultural Centre.

'Namgis Burial Grounds
Memorial and other totem poles can be found in this century-old burial ground. Some commemorate deceased members of the 'Namgis First Nations and other Kwakwaka'wakw Tribes. Figures on the poles indicate the family's crests (see booklet on Totem Poles available at the Infocentre, for further information). During your visit please respect these grounds. There is NO TRESPASSING inside the Burial Grounds. The poles can be viewed very clearly by the road or sidewalk along the street. See a Virtual Tour

Our Lady of Assumption Church
In 1863, the first Catholic missionaries were sent to found a mission among the Kwakwaka'wakw of the Pacific Northwest coast. The Mission of Assumption was founded in Fort Rupert in August of that year. Having relocated to Harbledown Island, the missionaries discovered that they were not welcome and subsequently abandoned the mission in 1874. It was more than half a century later, in 1943, before Our Lady of Assumption Chapel was constructed to serve the Catholic citizens of Alert Bay. The first service was held on Easter Sunday of that year.

Council Hall
This building was first established as the Alert Bay Indian Day School in 1900, with Mrs. Paterson Hall, the Reverend Hall's wife, as its first teacher. During the Potlatch Trials of 1922, the building was temporarily co-opted as a lock-up for Kwakwaka'wakw Elders accused of participating in the Village Island Potlatch. The Day School was eventually closed in 1947 when new classrooms were built near what is now the soccer field. The following year, the school was renovated, and subsequently re-opened as a Council Hall. Bingo, teen dances, and summer day camps are among the activities for which the building is now used.

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Christ Church
So as to secure a permanent workforce on the Island, saltery founders, Spencer and Huson persuaded the Reverend James Hall to relocate his newly established mission from Fort Rupert to Alert Bay. By 1878, the construction of a mission house was complete. The church itself was built under the supervision of Reverend Hall and held its first service on Christmas Day, 1892. Services were conducted in both English and the native tongue, Kwak'wala. Reverend Hall's memory is preserved in the stained glass window above the altar. The "Cook Window" depicts Jesus at the helm of a fishing boat, and is inscribed, "I will make you fishers of men". A more recent addition, the Centennial Window commemorates the church's first one hundred years. Scenes from this era depicted in the window include Christ Church itself, the former St. Michael's residential school, St. George's Hospital, the mission ship Columbia, and a 'Namgis canoe (the first mode of transportation used by Reverend Hall in these parts).

Big House
Originally built in 1963, the Alert Bay Big House was modeled after the traditional residences of the Kwakwaka'wakw. The building was destroyed by fire in August 1997 but was re-built and re-opened in May 1999. See Virtual Tour of interior.

World's Tallest Totem
Standing a total of 173 feet tall, the world's tallest totem pole is comprised of two pieces of 168 and 5 feet. Chief carver, Jimmy Dick, together with several assistants, completed the pole by 1972. The figures on the pole represent the various tribes of the Kwakwaka'wakw (for more information, see booklet on Totem Poles, available in the Infocentre).

'Namgis House, formerly St. Michael's Residential School
This building houses the Musgamakw Tsawtaineuk TribalCouncil and other private offices.  Originally built in 1929 as one of B.C.'s numerous residential schools, these schools were designed as much to inoculate native children with Anglo-European beliefs and values as they were to provide them with a basic education. Prior to the construction of "St. Mike's" (designed for a capacity of 200 students), children had been accommodated in two separate buildings. In addition to regular academic subjects, the curriculum included carpentry, boat building, and farming. During the 1950's, the school was virtually self-sufficient, with its own farm, herd of cattle, and water and electrical plant. The building was turned over to the 'Namgis First Nation in 1973.

The U'mista Cultural Centre
Central to Northwest Coast cultures, the ceremony
of the Potlatch was outlawed by the Dominion Government in 1884. Thereafter, these ceremonies, which mark important occasions such as births, marriages, deaths or the transfer of names, were forced underground. In 1921, forty-five people were charged with
holding a large Potlatch on Village Island. The ceremonial regalia, including coppers, masks, rattles, and whistles were confiscated and distributed amongst museum and private collections throughout North America. The mandate of U'mista is to repatriate these objects. To date, they have seen considerable success; their efforts are ongoing. Much of the repatriated collection is now on display at the Cultural Centre. See Virtual Tour of Gift Shop area.

Also featured are traveling exhibits, a collection of videos dealing with Potlatch prohibition and cultural survival, and a gift shop/gallery boasting a wide variety of works by local Kwakwaka'wakw artists. U'mista further serves as an educational centre, where courses are offered in the Kwak'wala language, traditional singing and dancing.
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