Dawson City to begin repairs on historic bank

Work on restoring the historic CIBC building in Dawson City, Yukon, is expected to start this summer.

Dawson City town council has set aside money which will be matched by the Yukon Government. It also hopes to get federal funding.

But Mayor Wayne Potoroka said there is enough cash to get the project rolling.

"That will leave us with around $80,000 that we can use towards gussying it up a bit, fixing a bit of the exterior, putting in windows, doors, the stairs on the west side of the building. That sort of thing."

Work on the project may start as early as June.

The Town of Dawsonsettled a dispute over ownership of the historic gold rush buildingearlier this year by paying local businessman Mike Palma $170,000 for the property.

The building housed the Dawson City Canadian Bank of Commerce branch which opened in 1898 amid the prospecting frenzy of the gold rush. Poet Robert Service, who composed The Cremation of Sam McGee, worked at the bank in 1908 following a stint at the bank's Whitehorse branch.