The Bastion

The Bastion, also known as the Nanaimo Bastion, is an historic octagonal shaped bastion or fortification located at 98 Front Street in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The Hudson's Bay Company, which then held a royal lease on all of what was then the Colony of Vancouver Island, built it between 1853 and 1855 to defend its coal mining operations in Nanaimo. Square logs were used for the walls of the three-storey building whose third floor extends out over the lower floors. It has been called "Nanaimo's premier landmark", because of its shape and its "high visibility from both land and sea." In 1891 and again in 1979 it was moved a short distance for historic preservation purposes. During the Summer of 2010, the Bastion was torn apart, to renew rotting boards, and stabilizing steel beams. The director of the event said that they were 'Making a historic movement'. On December 12, 1985, the city of Nanaimo designated it a local heritage site. Today the Bastion is under the supervision of the Nanaimo District Museum and is open to visitors during the summer. The Nanaimo Museum has heritage interpreters in costume on-site, and also hosts a daily cannon firing at noon during the summer months.