If you needed something done in The Pas in the early half of the twentieth century, there was a good chance you would have to pay a visit to the court house. Today, it’s a Provincial Historic Site and Municipal Museum.

The town of The Pas was a relative newcomer to Manitoba in 1912, joining after provincial boundaries expanded past the 60th parallel. As northern communities joined the province, the Pas became the Northern Judicial Headquarters and local architect George Taylor took on designing the new court house.

Taylor designed the building in the stately Neo-Classical style, which boasts a large and symmetrical façade. The name’s “Court House” and “Community Building” are inscribed in stone above the doorway, along with the opening date, 1916.

The Pas court house is unique. On top of housing the court house, jail, and municipal offices on the first floor, the second floor operated as a public assembly hall and hosted community events.

The Pas acquired the provincial courthouse from the Government of Manitoba in 1982, and converted the building into the Sam Waller Museum. One of the oldest brick-buildings in Northern Manitoba, the building remains a landmark in The Pas.