This story first appeared in print in Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine.
The plaza is ringed with German restaurants and shops selling kitschy tourist fair. On the hour, a massive cuckoo clock opens and a giant statue, complete with lederhosen and a pint of frothy lager, yodels enthusiastically while my friends and I cackle on a patio. It isn’t Revelstoke, but it could have been. Instead, it’s Kimberley, B.C. from the late 1990s, decades after it was given a Euro alpine-themed facelift.
Back in the early 1969, Dr. Geoff Battersby, a former Mayor of Revelstoke, local doctor and co-founder of the Selkirk Medical Clinic, was travelling through the United States with his wife when he happened upon Leavenworth, Washington. A pretty mountain town that, years earlier, had been revitalized with a Bavarian theme in an effort to boost a flagging economy. The change was intended to fit in with the geographical location, enhance the charm of the community, and boost tourism.
Inspired by the community, Dr. Battersby brought up the idea to the Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce. There was so much enthusiasm that several local business owners and chamber employees headed down to Leavenworth on a reconnaissance mission the following year. They returned energized, and some of them doffed Bavarian hats complete with feathers.
The majority of local businesses embraced the alpine idea. There was a small contingency of people opposed to the Bavarianization of Revelstoke’s downtown, but they were quiet and kept their opinions mostly to themselves. Some business owners were so enthused they renovated to the Bavarian style at their own expense. This included Dr. Battersby and his fellow doctors, their renovation netting a front-page image in the local paper. At the time, Revelstoke already had existing businesses thriving on German fare, including a small deli market.
Though the alpine concept generated a lot of interest, it ultimately fizzled out. “It’s the saying ‘necessity is the mother of invention,’” Dr. Battersby explains. “In the early ’70s, there wasn’t much necessity to change or revitalize the downtown core. The dams were being built, and the economy was doing well.”
It wasn’t until 1986 that the downtown of Revelstoke underwent a major revitalization.
“By then, times had changed,” Dr. Battersby says. “We needed to encourage visitors and tourism in Revelstoke, the economy wasn’t as strong and the dam work had been finished.” In 1984, Dr. Battersby and several other Revelstokians met with the cabinet in Victoria, B.C. to petition the government to fund a study to see how Revelstoke could be revitalized. They were successful, and from there, a multi-pronged strategy was created. “Our strategy included expanding education, recreation, tourism, and the ski hill,” Dr. Battersby explains.
It helped that in the mid 1980s the provincial government offered town revitalization funding. Local businesses shared the cost of fixing and rejuvenating buildings. A federal program to help offset costs for renovating heritage buildings and homes came into effect. Dr. Battersby was among those Revelstokians inspired by Nelson, B.C. in the West Kootenays. There the downtown had been restored and the buildings and embraced the community’s historical aesthetic. Dr. Battersby hired Robert Inwood, who advised Nelson in its successful revamp, to also advise Revelstoke. The result of their work is the Revelstoke we know today, which includes a beautiful plaza and historical vibrant downtown. Streets were narrowed, sidewalks were widened. Old store canopies that gave the streets a tunnel like feel were replaced with more modern fabric versions. Facades and cladding were stripped from buildings as they were restored.
“When it came to revitalizing the downtown core, ultimately we knew we had a community in an area even more stunning and unique than Leavenworth with its own vibrant past,” Dr. Battersby explains. And while it’s humorous to think that Revelstoke could have been one of the several mountain towns in North America who jumped on the Bavarian alphorn bandwagon, Dr. Battersby was correct. Revelstoke looks best reveling in its own history and the uniquely Canadian environmental beauty surrounding it.
*The author has lived, worked and played in Kimberley BC and thinks it’s a fantastic place where the alpine theme is done just right
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