Work continues to restore Dawson City's old CIBC building

If you visit Dawson City, Yukon, you can't miss it a two-storey building on Front Street, next to thehistoric sternwheeler, the S.S. Keno.

At first glance, you might not realize the building's historical significance. But ask any local, and they will tell you.

The former CIBCbuilding dates to the Gold Rush, and was once the workplace of poet Robert Service. It sat vacantfor decades before the town bought it in 2013 for $170,000. The goal is to restore it to what it might have looked like a century ago.

The historic buildinghas some unusualfeatures.

"The pressed-metal siding on the building is extremely rare in Canada, and important to the colour and flavour and history of Dawson City's historic streetscape," says Alex Summerville, the executive director of the Dawson Museum.

For almost the entire 20thcentury,Dawsonites did their day-to-daybanking at the Front Street building.

Now the town has been doing restoration work. It has spent a lot of money this year on renovations, with contributions fromParks Canada, the Yukon government, and federal gas tax funds.

Asbestos and roof repairs

The town says $417,500 was spent this year, to removeasbestos and fixthe roof.

"There was asbestos in the building with the insulation and stuff, and that all had to be removed. With that substance and that stuff in the building, nobody could go in there so we had to have that done first," saidCory Bellmore, the town's chief administrative officer.

"It needed to be done because there was water leaking down inside the building and causing further damage so it was just a regular roof repair to stop any further damage in the building," Bellmore said.

Bellmore says restoration work will continue on the building next summer.She says the town will look at what the next steps will be to restore a rich part of Dawson's history.

The building was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988. It's not clear if or when the town might eventually open the building to the public.