Main Street, later Victoria Street West, when the Canadian Pacific Railway operated trains through the middle of the original business thoroughfare of the city. The tall building to the right is the Federal Building, which housed the Post Office, Customs, Land Office. **Photo courtesy of Kamloops Museum and Archives photograph collection No. 1625**

As the Federal Building approaches its 125th anniversary, the artists at Old Federal Studios will open the doors of the fifth oldest historic building in Kamloops to the community to showcase its historical significance and share stories about its newest occupants.

Old Federal Studios will host the birthday party at 207 Victoria St. West between 4 and 6 p.m. on Friday, June 26.

During the celebration, there will be free tacos from Tachington Mexican Food, cake and music by DJ Zero-One offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

“The old federal building is interesting on many levels, literally and figuratively,” Vaughn Warren, event organizer and coordinator tells The Wren. “It’s probably one of the top 10 oldest buildings in Kamloops. It was Kamloops’ first post office.”

The event is funded through sponsors such as United Way of BC and MC2 Developments with supplies donated from Picket Fence Graphics, Wallace Upholstery, Universal Reproductions and Sisters Sleep Gallery.

“It’s a chance for people to celebrate Kamloops’ heritage and have a feel-good story of West Victoria,” Warren says of the event. “I’m proud to be a person that’s propagating positivity and growth in the cultural sector.

“Mostly what I’m looking forward to is putting a pin in the history of Kamloops to document it in a way that shows people care about our heritage and our history, and to put a little elbow grease into celebrating it too.”

Historical buildings are essential for artists to hone their craft, he added.

“I cut my teeth as an artist in east Van where we used to have access to low-cost old buildings that really were crucial to helping us develop our artistic style, and these places and spaces are critical to developing a strong cultural scene in any city,” Warren explains.

Roughly two years ago, Warren started up the Old Federal Studios to give aspiring artists the experience of operating in a similar setting. He’s optimistic that showcasing the building and its multi-faceted uses will help the community understand the importance of the “culturally significant” wooden constructed building.

“I’m always around,” Warren adds with a chuckle. “I’m kind of like the Phantom of the Opera here.”

Vaughn Warren, a self-proclaimed factotum for Old Federal Studios, stands in the entrance of the historic building showcasing the custom designed fence. **Photo by Breanne Massey / The Wren**

Origins of the Federal Building

Photo courtesy of Kamloops Museum and Archive collection No. 1521.

Built in the 1900s, when the commercial centre of the community was once Victoria Street West, the Federal Building is a cornerstone of Kamloops history. It housed the Post Office, Lands and Titles, Customs, Mineral Weighing and Assays and Indian Affairs offices, according to the Kamloops Museum and Archives. Over the years, the Federal Building also acted as a Men’s Christian Hostel before it became the Emerald House Women’s Shelter, and later The Emerald Centre co-ed hostel, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association Kamloops branch.

Today, it’s the last remaining building from Kamloops’ first street, which includes architectural evidence of cedar shingling and multi-paned windows. It has been restored to operate as a private artist studios and public art gallery known as Old Federal Studios.

The Federal Building was built between 1900 and 1901. It housed the Post Office until 1917 when it moved to Third Avenue, according to Kamloops Museums’ archivist Mitchell Fridman. **Photo courtesy of Kamloops Museum and Archive collection No. 713**

Previously, the Kamloops Makerspace used the building as an art co-op between 2015 and 2023.

“It’s an absolutely stunning building,” Megan Fenkhuber, Kamloops Museum educator says. “When I served on the board [of the Makerspace], it was always important to us to preserve the heritage of the building.”

While inspiring in its age and history, the building comes with the longstanding quirks of a century old structure with characteristics such as poor insulation that makes regulating temperatures a challenge.

In her role as the museum’s educator, Fenkhuber explained that the insulation likely consisted of saw dust and newspapers like many historic buildings, which made it a good habitat for maple bugs. However, it didn’t deter her appreciation for the heritage building.

“I just love old buildings and old architecture,” she says, reminiscing about the importance of maintaining history in the community.

Kamloops Museum educator Megan Fenkhuber shares memories of the Federal Building as both a history graduate from Thompson Rivers University and an artist who spent time in the building when it was the Kamloops Makerspace. **Photo by Breanne Massey / The Wren**

Memories from the Kamloops Makerspace

Eleven years ago, the Kamloops Makerspace, a volunteer-run community arts collective, moved in and began an eight-year transformation of the historic Federal Building for contemporary artists and technologists.

While inhabiting the space, the group collaboratively restored sections of the building. Now, the organization is located at C-1140 Halston Ave., with the same goal of sharing a physical space for arts and technology while developing a sense of community.

Aras Balali Moghaddam and Nicholas Adams co-founded the makerspace as a nonprofit society, which was born from the ModLab and the innovation centre.

“For us, it will always kind of be the birth place,” Adams says about the historic Federal Building. “We started at the innovation space but we became the makerspace there.”

He describes early memories of the space being an “important building” that required water hookups, safety repairs to mitigate breaks-ins, patching the roof so it didn’t rain in the stairwell and managing a complex boiler system in the basement during the first three months inside the building.

Adams credits the Victoria West Improvement Project for work done to the gardens in front of the building and the black metal fencing. However, the overall cost of gas and utilities in the historic building caused many of their members to burnout from fundraising and repairs, causing a drop in membership to go from about 50 members at the club’s peak and roughly 10 at its lowest.

“The new board came in when [morale and motivation] were low and decided to move,” Adams recalls the decision to leave the building in 2023. “It was a hard decision but I think it was the right one… I think it’s amazing that that building is still there and I hope it’s still there in another 125 years.”

Today, Adams has stepped back from a leadership role with the Kamloops Makerspace but his partner Bailey Finley is now the president of the organization in addition to their ventures as entrepreneurs.

Adams’ favourite memory about the Kamloops Makerspace’s time in the Federal Building is that six couples met there and remain together today, including himself and Finley.

“There’s so many couples who have met there and it blows me away,” says Adams, while reminiscing that in October of 2024 he began making a ukulele for Finley with help there. That decision, along with help from Mike Miltimore to borrow band repair tools for the surprise gift, ultimately led the couple to purchasing Lee’s Music and opening up the doors roughly a month ago.

“All of those stories will forever connect me to those buildings.”

Editor’s Note, June 25, 2026: An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled the last name of Megan Fenkhuber in reference. The article has been updated.