Historic Front Street

Front Street is one of the original streets in Penticton and as such has a distinct history. The beginnings of Front Street date back to the early days of European settlement in Penticton when it was originally named Smith Street. It was the main business street as it was very close to where the S.S. Aberdeen would dock as well as the railway and would be accessed by the passengers who had just gotten off the sternwheeler.

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The Empire Theatre

City of Penticton, 18 Front Street. 1930

The Empire Theatre which was later renamed the Empress Theatre was located at 18 Front Street, is a flat roofed, two-story building constructed using concrete. The choice of concrete as the building material shows a certain confidence held by the builders in Penticton's economy as it was becoming a vital regional transportation hub. The theatre originally opened on the 8th of January 1913 to a sold out crowd of 540. The theatre saw a series of different forms of entertainment from silent films to vaudeville, and in 1918 joined the Paramount Pictures Berry circuit which is when the name was changed to Empress Theatre. The theatre was renovated in 1930 to accommodate the new talkies and from here until 1936 the theatre would be used to show operas, theatre, and movies. The theatre was closed in 1936 following the opening of a new theatre on Main Street which commandeered all of its business. Following the closure the theatre fell into disrepair and was used as a tire warehouse for years. It is now a part of The LLoyd Gallery.

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The Murk Block

City of Penticton, 12 Front Street. 1928

The Murck Block of buildings are located at 12 Front Street and are three buildings with an internal courtyard connecting them all. There are two buildings constructed out of concrete which were some of the first commercial buildings to do so in Penticton in 1911 as they were part of the five "fireproof" buildings from that year. The third building was made of wood and predated the other two although there is no clear evidence as to how old the wooden building is. The wooden building is evocative of the buildings originally built on the growing Front Street. The buildings were originally owned by Henry Murk a Penticton pioneer, he was a part of the first City Council and is believed to have arrived in the valley in the 1880s. It is believed that Murk left the valley for Washington state sometime around World War 1. Following Murk's departure from the valley Chinese business men began using the buildings as they were in the area of the old Penticton Chinatown also known as Shanghai Alley. The buildings have since been used for a myriad of different businesses such as hotels like the Hotel Canada, as well as, cafes like the Dominion Cafe. The buildings are now home to Dragon's Den Art and Something Pretty.

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Kendall-Gahan Block

Penticton Museum & Archives, 25 Front Street. 1911

The Kendall-Gahan Block is located at 25 Front Street and was another one of the five "fireproof" buildings constructed in 1911. It has a brick facade valued for its warm colour and flat iron shape. These original non-wooden buildings portray the optimism of the developers that the town's economy would only continue to grow and flourish and that the building would have a long, useful future in the years ahead. It was constructed to be used as the law office of W.H.T. Gahan on the top floor. Gahan leased out the ground floor for the use as a realty office originally Kendall & Mason and then just Kendall, which was one of the first realty offices in Penticton to not be connected to the South Okanagan Land Co. 25 Front Street is now home to Tangent, Home Decor and Furniture.

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The Bennett Block

City of Penticton, 74 Front Street. 2007

The Bennett Block is located at 74 Front Street and is believed to be one of the first examples of a building constructed of Penticton brick with construction on the Bennett Block having commenced in 1911. The reason behind the Bennett Block being one of the first to use Penticton Brick is because of the original owner A.E. Bennett as he was an investor in the first brickyard to use local clay. The original building contained one of the first skylight's in Penticton although it was either destroyed or covered up. The original business in the Bennett Block was an arts and stationary store owned by A.E. Bennett before it later became Veribest Bakery after being bought out by Cunningham and Soanes in 1912. Since then the building has been home to a multitude of businesses from a furniture store, a second hand store, and even a branch of the Inland Natural Gas Company. Today Ginza Japanese Restaurant operates out of the Bennett Block.

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The BC Hotel

Penticton Museum & Archives, The BC Hotel. ca.1920-30

The BC Hotel was located at 123 Front Street and opened in 1905. It was in a prime location because of Front Street's proximity to the wharf where the S.S. Aberdeen would dock and the railway so many passengers would disembark and head to the Hotel for some rest. The original owner of the hotel was Percy Marks who was responsible for the construction of the hotel. Marks was only owner until 1906 when he sold the Hotel to W.H. Tapley. While Tapley was proprietor the hotel became known for its food much in thanks to the full kitchen staff of Chinese cooks. In 1909 shortly before selling the hotel Tapley fully renovated the dining room and hall, as well as, painting the exterior. Tapley sold the Hotel in 1909 to business partners Art Thompson and W.H. Flummerfelt. It was during their tenure in 1912 that the BC Hotel saw the capture of two men who had recently held up the Charter and Taylor's General Store and Post Office in South Kelowna. The two men were on the run when they stopped for a rest in the lobby of the BC Hotel however the two men's identities had been revealed and while they were in the lobby Thompson recognised them and alerted the authorities. The BC Hotel traded hands a number of times after Thompson and Flummerfelt, with the Riordan family being the owners directly after them until 1944. In 1954 the hotel was renamed to the Valley Hotel, it was then later renamed again to the Valley Motor Inn. Unfortunately in 2012 a fire took place at the hotel which resulted in the hotel burning down which was especially tragic given the history the hotel possessed and that it was one of the longest continually running businesses in the Penticton History. Today in the place where the Hotel used to be there is a parking lot and in 2024 the lot was put aside for the construction of a five-storey residential building.