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The Laurel Packing House

The Laurel Packing House is a heritage site located in Kelowna, British Columbia. Initially built in 1917 by the BC Fruit Growers Ltd. after the organization was founded by the BC Fruit Growers Association, The Laurel building took the role packing and shipping house, the location has now become the home to the Okanagan Wine Museum and the British Columbia Orchard Industry Museum.

History

After being built in 1917, the Laurel Packing House was put into work in the middle of Kelowna's Cultural District. This area contained multiple fruit warehouses, packing houses, canneries and even a sawmill and this area witnessed the growth of Kelowna's Orchard industry throughout the twentieth century.

The 1960's saw a fire that ravaged much of the area's industry, but Laurel Packing House survived this disaster and continued it's work for the BC Fruit Growers Ltd. as a packing house until the 1970's.

In 1982, the Kelowna city council set a date for the demolition of the packing house. Despite this many members of the community and those in the orchard industry came together to preserve the building, and their efforts resulted in the Laurel Packing House becoming the first designated heritage building in Kelowna.

.An example of the floor workers packing and shipping product.

Today

Since it's inauguration as a heritage site in the mid 1980's, the Laurel Packing House has become a venue for many different forms of celebrations and events, alongside it's status as the home The Okanagan Wine and British Columbia Orchard Industry museums. The site received a revitalization in 2010 in an attempt to improve the building while maintaining it's décor and heritage.

The BC Fruit Growers Ltd. had ceased operation out of Laurel Packing House since the 1970's, but the job of packing and shipping was moved to the main warehouse for BC Fruit Growers Ltd. in Kelowna. This facility would go on to become the Sun-Rype packing and shipping facility that is still in use as of 2018.