“Kaslo - “burn it down! Didn’t you hear me - I said burn it down!” was the declaration blazed on the side of the Langham Hotel and “eyesore” in the community of Kaslo in 1974. Many townspeople agreed wholeheartedly and the city council was preparing for the Langham’s destruction when a young businessman of Kaslo, Michael Guthrie, took matters into his own hands. He managed to have the Langham purchased, to organize a group of supporters creating the Langham Cultural Society and to initiate actual restorations on the old hotel. ...”

In June of 1974 Michael began co-ordinating the saving of "the Langham", an 1896 three story building in Kaslo, B.C. He first wrote the owner, Walter Schmidt of Cape Cod and said he was interested in forming a collective of some kind to buy the building in response to the Village of Kaslo's notice to tear the building down. Walter agreed to such a sale. Michael then asked some of his friends to meet and discuss forming a society after his attempt to interest other local artists in forming a collective failed.

Michael soon had a group of 10 people willing to sign for a loan of $5,000, to buy the building and form "The Langham Cultural Society", those people were:

Michael and Darelyn Guthrie, Fred Higley, Barb Scrivens, Allen and Gloria Davidson, Pat and Jackie Bowyer, Bart Darnell and Jim Vanhorn. The Society was registered in Victoria, B.C. in November of 1974.

Walter Schmidt practically donated the building at a price of $3,500. which is what he paid to Tomio Baba, who owned the building for years.

Without Walters generosity, the project would never have happened.