Visit the Laurel, home of the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum.
The Laurel Packinghouse was built in 1917, using bricks made locally from Knox Mountain clay. At that time, what is now Kelowna’s Cultural District was packed with fruit warehouses, packinghouses, canneries, and a sawmill. Horses, boxcars, and trucks jostled for positon on tracks and dirt roads.
A fire in the 1960’s destroyed much of the industrial district, but the Laurel was a working packinghouse until the 1970s. When it was slated for demolition in 1982, members of the community rallied to save it, making it Kelowna’s first designated heritage building. The building was revitalized in 2010.
Today the Laurel is a unique and atmospheric rental space for events such as weddings, private functions, and community events. Click here for more information about renting the Laurel Packinghouse.
