Canadian National Railways (Canadian Northern Railway) Station

The Humboldt railway station was built as the central point on the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) main line from Winnipeg to Edmonton, and illustrates the CNoR’s confidence in the viability and potential of its prairie network. Humboldt was created and surveyed by the CNoR with the railway station as its visual and commercial focus within the street grid.

The Humboldt station illustrates the CNoR’s economic approach to station construction. The use of a “Special” CNoR plan for the Humboldt station reflects the importance projected for Humboldt by CNoR. At the same time, the incorporation of standard design elements adapted from its third class station plans, illustrates the continuing concern to limit initial building costs. Later extensions to the station reflect the CNoR policy of making improvements only as warranted by increasing business.

The railway station retains many functionally related components of its setting, including railway buildings, warehouses and grain elevators clustered along the track, trees and shrubs in the front yard, dating from the early days of the station and an early, exterior, free-standing light fixture. The area surrounding the station retains numerous contemporary structures, as well as the original rectangular street grid oriented to the railway line.