We love this picture of a car wash on Columbia Avenue, circa 1965 — when rail service was ending and cars were the way of the future.
Road access to the Kootenays improved astronomically through the ’50s and ’60s.
Highway 3B, originally called the Rossland-Sheep Lake Highway, was first proposed by Harry Lefevre in 1952 and finally opened to motorists in 1964.
The lake was renamed Nancy Greene Lake in 1968.
The Rossland Miner declared on Oct. 29 of that year that “opening the highway will have a desirable effect upon the economy of this city as it brings the Red Mountain ski resort,” which at the time was looking to expand with a lift on Granite Mountain, “within a few hours travelling time of the Okanagan and Boundary centres.
At the same time, the new link greatly reduces travelling time between Vancouver and the East and West Kootenays since, with the recently completed Kootenay Skyway, it provides a direct route between Creston and Christina Lake.”
Interested in checking out our newspaper archives?
Book a research appointment.
More info: www.rosslandmuseum.ca/research.
Do you have original photos capturing Rossland’s storied history?
Consider donating them to the Rossland archives: we can scan them and you retain the original.
