At #1 North Mackenzie Ave. stands the oldest building in Williams Lake.  Built by the Pacific Great Eastern Railway in the winter of 1919, the Station House has always served as a centre of activity for the community. Over the years it has been a meeting place for civic organizations, school boards and service clubs but in the 60’s and 70’s the building fell into disrepair and became a bit of an eyesore.

In 1981 a group of concerned citizens formed a society to preserve the building and that group, also seeing the need for a cultural centre, created the Station House Studio & Gallery Society.  Much hard work by those visionary people, along with donations by local business, were the beginnings of what is now the public art gallery and cornerstone of arts and culture in Williams Lake.

The Station House remains a place to meet old friends and enjoy conversations about local happenings.

The building still has its original wood floors, passenger bench and blueprints are proudly displayed in the stairwell to the upper gallery.  The Stationmaster’s bedroom is now the studio space, the living room is now the upper gallery and the office was previously the kitchen. Listen hard and you can almost hear children being called in for dinner from upstairs.

Turning the Station House into a gallery and one of Williams Lake’s main tourist attractions has given local and tourism visitors a chance to experience a true piece of history.  The gallery/gift shop is a delightful place to catch up with old friends and enjoy art.

In 2019 the Station House celebrated 100 years of serving the community while the Gallery marked 40 years of presenting exciting, beautiful and often, thought provoking exhibits in 2021.

We welcome visitors and admission is always FREE.