Root Cellar

The Root Cellar, also known as Building 56, faces a large, open yard in the Bear Creek Compound, a historic, non-operating, placer gold mining facility in the Klondike River valley. Most of the structure is concealed under a thick covering of earth. The exposed entrance is a wooden retaining wall with a distinctive door and a loading platform, beside which, is a small, shed-roofed enclosure. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

The Root Cellar is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value

The Root Cellar, as part of the Bear Creek Compound, is associated with the corporate phase of the Yukon’s gold mining history. It illustrates the development of community life at the complex because of its role in the local production and storage of root crops and potatoes and as a food supply in this remote location.

Architectural Value

The Root Cellar is a utilitarian structure with a good aesthetic design. The shape and treatment of the front elevation enhances the visual quality of this functional structure, most of which is concealed under a thick covering of earth. It is also a very good example of a functional design that allows long-term storage of root crops and tubers produced in quantity. The structure demonstrates good workmanship and appropriate use of materials as evidenced in the features that provide the storage chamber with easy access, controlled air circulation, and a stable temperature range.

Environmental Value

The Root Cellar maintains an unchanged relationship to its site and reinforces the character of its industrial setting at Bear Creek Compound. The structure is familiar to those within the area.

Sources: Joan Mattie, Bear Creek Industrial Complex, Bear Creek, Yukon Federal Heritage Building Review Office Building Report 89-008; Root Cellar (Building #56), Bear Creek Compound, Yukon, Heritage Character Statement, 89-008.

The following character-defining elements of the Root Cellar should be respected.

- the simple and functional nature of its design, and its overall good workmanship and appropriate use of materials;

- its unusual form and massing, including its distinctive front elevation, with the attached enclosure and loading dock, and its earth cover;

- the features that unify it with the site’s other structures, including the rooftop ventilators, the wooden cladding of the front wall, and the main entrance door, with its diagonal boards and three prominent strap hinges;

- the connecting passage with its double-door airlock arrangement;

- the shape and configuration of its storage chamber, with two rows of posts down the centre;

- its comfortable relationship; due to its simple form, materials, detailing, and colour; with the other structures and landscape features of the site.