Yukon's historic places

Dateline: January 29, 2026.

Tin Shop, Building #4

Located in the Bear Creek Compound, near Dawson, Yukon.

Formally Recognized: November 15, 1993

    The Tin Shop, also known as Building No. 4, located in the Bear Creek Compound faces a large, open yard in a historic, non-operating, placer gold mining facility in the Klondike River valley. This small, rectangular structure has a gabled, corrugated metal roof and is clad with corrugated metal siding. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

    The Tin Shop is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
    The Tin Shop is closely associated with the corporate phase of Yukon's gold mining history. The building's close proximity to the Machine Shop, (Buildings 1 and 2), with which it had a close functional relationship, illustrates how trades buildings were required to support mining operations. The Tin Shop is also a very good example of a building that illustrates the development of the Bear Creek Compound as evidenced in its ability to adapt to various functions to meet changing requirements.

Architectural Value
    The Tin Shop is a utilitarian structure with a good aesthetic design. The arrangement and detailing of the openings on the front gable end enhance the appearance of the functionally oriented building. Its good function is evidenced by the configuration of its work areas and the visible traces of its functional adaptation. Overall, the building exhibits good workmanship and appropriate use of materials.

Environmental Value
    The Tin Shop maintains an unchanged relationship to its site and reinforces the character of its industrial setting at the 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;
- Tin Shop (Building # 4), Bear Creek Compound, Yukon, Heritage Character Statement, 89-008.

Character-Defining Elements

    The character-defining elements of the Tin Shop should be respected:

• the simple and functional nature of its design, and its overall good workmanship and appropriate use of materials;
• the features of its form, construction, and materials that unify it with the site's other buildings, including its simple rectangular shape, its gable roof, its metal corrugated siding and roof covering, and its rooftop ventilator;
• the arrangement and detailing of the double doors, the single door, and the windows of the front gable;
• the visible traces of structural alteration and functional adaptation, such as the west extension;
• the configuration of its work areas and other vestiges of its former function;
• its comfortable relationship - due to its form, materials, detailing, and colour scheme - with the other structures and landscape features of the site, in particular the adjacent Machine Shop (Buildings 1 and 2).

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View of the main entrance to the Tin Shop, showing the arrangement and detailing of
the double doors and the windows of the front gable, 1988. Photo by Parks Canada.

Corner view of the Tin Shop, showing the simple rectangular shape, gable roof, metal corrugated siding
and roof covering, and the rooftop ventilator, 1988. Photo by Parks Canada.