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Nelson church, Kootenay Lake glass house ahead in contest

St. Saviour’s Anglican Cathedral and the Kootenay Lake Village glass house are tied for fourth in the BC’s 100 Best Buildings contest.
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The Good Shepherd window at St. Saviour's Anglican Cathedral is the largest of its many stained glass works.

Nelson’s St. Saviour’s Anglican Cathedral and the Kootenay Lake Village glass house are tied for fourth in their category in the Architecture Foundation of BC’s 100 Best Buildings contest.

As of 1:30 this afternoon, the frontrunner in the interior category was Mission Hill winery with 402 votes (22 per cent). St. Saviour’s and the Kootenay Lake Village glass house near Procter had 82 votes each (4.5 per cent).

The stone and wood church was built in 1899 and rebuilt in 1928 following a fire. It boasts several elaborate stained glass windows.

The glass house began life as a pre-fab greenhouse, but is now used as a gathering place for residents. It includes a pop-up kitchen, bar, living room-style seating, rugs and plants.

Among other Kootenay/Boundary buildings vying for the title and their vote counts to date:

• Revelstoke courthouse, 80

• Greenwood city hall, 57

• Fernie Courthouse, 48

• Old Fruitvale schoolhouse, 48

• Rossland courthouse, 43

• Rossland Miners Union Hall, 27

• Langham Cultural Centre, Kaslo, 27

• Fernie City Hall, 16

• Old Scandinavian church, Nelson, 15

• Nelson Chrysler, 10

• Gerick Cycle & Sports, Trail, 9

• Gerick Cycle & Ski, Nelson, 8

A total of 1,805 votes have been cast in the category.

Voting closes September 28 at 4 p.m., after which the top 25 buildings in each region will be submitted to a judging panel, who will choose the top three from each region (there are only 35 total in the interior category). The winning buildings will receive award plaques.

You’re allowed to cast one vote for each of four regions — Vancouver Mainland/South Coast, BC Interior, Islands, and Northern BC.

Nominees could be of any age, purpose, or material.

The architecture foundation says the contest’s purpose is to “recognize the impact and influence that buildings have had over the past 100 years.”

To vote, go to architecturefoundationbc.ca/best-buildings-entries-for-voting.