Post by @adam@mstdn.ca

2026-08-11 14:23 UTC

While up in Whitehorse, I came across this abandoned structure on the top of the Whitehorse escarpment, overlooking the city below, not far from the airport. It has a rich patina of graffiti now, and is being used as a shelter, but I’m curious as to what it was originally used for. The most common theory seems to be that it was an old crematorium, but I’ve seen others claim online that this is false, and that it was used to burn documents by the military. #whitehorse #Abandoned #AbandonedPlaces

Replies (3)

@adam@mstdn.ca 2026-08-11 14:34

The crematorium theory is not a new one either, as evidenced by this photo from 1957, depicting “Mary Lang goofing around in the old Crematorium on top of clay cliffs, Whitehorse.” https://yukon.minisisinc.com/SCRIPTS/MWIMAIN.DLL/126055743/2/1/10414/LISTINGS_IMAGE?RECORD&DATABASE=LISTINGS_WEB

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@adam@mstdn.ca 2026-08-11 14:41

But others claim otherwise. This person writes in recollecting that they too had heard the crematorium theory from when they were young, but later heard it was an old bakery oven from the military in the early 1940’s (which means that in less than 2 decades, the original usage had been lost and the prevailing theory of the crematorium had taken over). See page 10 of the linked document. https://archives-ftp.gov.yk.ca/library/special/MT_043_Online_2003_12_14.pdf #abandonedbakery #WhatWasTheMilitaryUpTo

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@adam@mstdn.ca 2026-08-11 14:47

Finally, in this blog post, the author tries to dispel the crematorium theory by claiming that it was an old military document burner. What the military was doing that it would require, not one, but two document burners, is left as an exercise to the reader to imagine. https://explorenorthblog.com/a-walk-at-the-whitehorse-airport-and-a-look-at-progress/

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