Victoria History

Victoria's Historic Monuments

The four sites that have been detailed here were chosen as the most impressive in the central downtown area. These are really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the wealth of historic sites available to the explorer. Also, if desired, it will be fairly easy to expand the itinerary of central sites based on the links provided.

The Empress Hotel - 721 Government St.

The Empress Hotel exhibits the past in all of its colonial pomp and fashionable decadence. It was the Canadian Pacific Railroad who masterminded the business venture that the Empress would facilitate, and it was they who bargained with the city to allow the hotel to stand at the western end of the railroad line. By 1903, a deal had been struck with the city of Victoria that would include it alongside Quebec city and Banff as key players in a scheme to bring wealth, prestige and consolidation to the trans-continental unity that the Canadian railroad made possible. But before the hotel could be built, 38 meters of gumwood pilings had to be laid over what was once a muddy tidal flat at the head of James Bay, an area that had previously been connected to the city by a mere bridge - thus the creation of the "Seawall". The hotel was designed and released in 4 editions - the original by ace Victoria architect, Francis M. Rattenbury. The subsequent three additions, which doubled the size of the hotel and conformed to the original design style that Rattenbury had envisioned. Once erected, the hotel was serviced by another acquisition of the CPR, a fleet of luxury ocean liners - The "Princesses" and "Empresses."

Recently a restoration project was undertaken for a lofty 45 million dollars, the highest single amount of money soaked up by an old hotel in Canada- this places the Empress on the highest echelon in terms of first class luxury. Of course for the backpacker, the hotel may cast an imposing shadow - unless you have, at the very least, $500 to burn in one evening’s gorgeous romp - you can look, but you can't touch. And for the 500+ employees of the place, how few could remember, if any, back to the day when the Empress was the only big kid on the block, when there was no billion dollar hotel row - and back to a time when it was the place to stay and to work. If you're feeling especially saucy and want to primp up the act and tie on a ringer (a suit and tie, or any clothing item over $1000), you might want to partake in afternoon tea at the "Empress Tea Room" - with all of the other old ladies, of course - remembering that the lighting up of a peace pipe is strictly forbidden. This would probably cause a round table-collective heart attack. So - behave! There is also the "Bengal lounge" which hearkens back when British big game hunters, schlupping about with their Indian coolies, had a dandy old time shooting at everything that moved. These days the proprietors have taken up "dirty hippie" hunting, as the collection of wall mounts attests to.

The B.C. Parliament - 501 Belleville St.

Adjacent to the Queen's manor we find the Queen's Palace, or rather - her "diamond jubilee". Construction on the B.C. parliament building was begun in 1893 based on designs by the then 25 year old architect Francis M. Rattenbury who got the job by in an anonymous competition by beating 58 other, more experienced architects. It eventually cost $900,000, and was worked on by the most skilful men that North America and Europe could provide. The result is a monument that boasts serene imperial splendour without the gaudiness that marred so many other buildings of the period.

The best time to check it out is at night when the building takes on its more haunted aspect,all luminous grays and blacks. Be sure to go around and scope out the back of the structure, as there are many features that can only be appreciated by doing so.

Other Structures designed by the eminent F.M. Rattenbury:

Carnegie Library on 794 Yates St. (down the St. Andrews block and across an intersection) - built in 1904

The "Old Bank of Montreal" on 1200 Government Street, built in 1896

Crystal Gardens on 713 Douglas Street, built in 1923

Christ Church Cathedral - 951 Quadra St.

Christ Church Cathedral is an immensely impressive piece of pseudo-medieval workmanship, the architectural style of which was in vogue 700 years ago. Though our Christ Church Cathedral is a replica based on an historic idea, it retains the essence of that idea, and in this way may yet be more impressive than it's dilapidated predecessors. When not impressive, it manages to be damn foreboding.

The cathedral is mere blocks from the Parliament building. To find it go back past the Empress, and up Government Street for one more block taking a right on Courtney Street, and proceeding for three more blocks - by the third block you will see it looming up ahead in all of it's gothic glory.

Though originally designed in 1891 by J.C.M. Keith, who received the highest honours from the British Architectural Society for his work, the Cathedral was not constructed until 1926, owing to financial problems amongst other setbacks.

The Cathedral is always open to the public, so make sure you try the front doors - The vaulted ceiling is worth seeing. There is a street and the "Old Burying Ground"(from the Fort Victoria days) on the left side of the building, as well as an open lawn on the right, so feel free to walk around the structure.

If you are still in the mood for old Churches, there are a few examples of other styles within the immediate neighbourhood:

The Metropolitan United Church on 1411 Quadra St. (1891),

The St. Andrews Roman Catholic Cathedral on 1202 Blanshard St. (1892) whose 175 foot spire is one of Victoria's highest landmarks.

Craigdarroch Castle - 1050 Joan Crescent

This ornate piece of ancient looking wizardry is on the crest of a hill in the prestigious Rockland area, overlooking the Inner Harbour and The Empress. Isolated upon 28 acres, it was intended to be the palace of Dunsmuir and his wife. Much like the movie "Citizen Kane", where the main character (a newspaper tycoon) goes from rags to riches, eventually practicing a form of ultimate escapism by secluding himself and his wife inside a treasure horde - so to did Robert Dunsmuir, a Scottish immigrant, and the wealthiest man of 19th Century British Columbia. Or at least he attempted to. But death came to Robert Dunsmuir one year before the castles completion, and death also came to the designer of the project - leaving an unfinished masterpiece. Between the time of Dunsmuir's death (1895) and the present, the castle has gone through numerous incarnations until it was finally declared the historical site and museum it is today. Though the Baron was never to live inside his fanciful creation, the Baroness on the other hand lived in the castle until her death in 1908. Her daughters were to inherit the site, but because neither of them wanted to buy the other's share of the property, they decided instead to raffle off the surrounding land into 144 lots, and set bids at the flat rate of $2750. The Castle was sold to the Federal Government who went on to use it as a Hospital and a College, and all of the interior items were sold to buyers throughout the world by way of auction.

Today, the Craigdarroch museum acts as a restoration society. While the castle is fully functional as a museum, the Restorers have been put up to the task of completely restoring the castle to its original state of unfinished elegance. While the castle was used for secular reasons, much of the 39 rooms had been changed in one way or another, all of the original furniture had been sold, and the only element unchanged was the exterior. The restorers have gone through the painstaking work of finding similar items from the same period based on the old photographs of the castle. So it is very much a work in progress - but with more than enough paraphernalia to satisfy all but the most demanding of Museum-aficionados.

http://craigdarrochcastle.com/ ↑