Description of Historic Place

565 Johnson Street is a small two-storey parged-brick building located on the south side of Johnson Street at Oriental Alley. The architectural elements of its streetfront facade - tall, hooded upper-storey windows, a prominent bracketed cornice, and decorative quoining - extend around the corner into the adjacent alley.

Heritage Value

565 Johnson Street is valued as an excellent example of a modest nineteenth-century retail building within the Old Town District. Built for businessman Elijah Howe Anderson in 1879, the value of this historic place lies in its virtually intact condition. Its simple Italianate detailing makes a significant contribution to the physical and historical continuity of the lower Johnson Street streetscape, made up of a unique collection of revitalized and rehabilitated heritage buildings. Situated next to Oriental Alley, and with a Klondike-era courtyard at rear, it is also of value to the commercial core of Victoria's downtown because it helps to retain and define the network of passageways which provided service spaces, stable areas, and secondary access for the city's early commercial businesses.

565 Johnson Street also shares part of its history with its neighbour to the east, 567-569 Johnson Street, which was also constructed for Elijah Howe Anderson.

Source: City of Victoria Planning and Development Department

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of 565 Johnson Street include:
- The prominent location of the building as a landmark at the Johnson Street entrance to Oriental Alley.
- Its relationship to the Klondike-era courtyard at the rear via Oriental Alley.
- Its rear facade, which defines part of the northern perimeter of the Klondike-era courtyard.
- The key intact elements of the historic 1879 facade, including masonry, quoining, its bracketed cornice, parged brick, and tall second storey wood frame windows with decorative crowns.
- Key elements of the original storefront including divided glass windows and inset central entrance with cast-iron columns.
- The extension of the facade around the northwestern corner of the building, which invites movement into, and helps to define Oriental Alley.
- Windows on the Oriental Alley facade.
- Quoining on the southwest corner of the building, facing Oriental Alley.
- The definition of historic window and door openings seen in the exterior brickwork.
- The contiguous relationship of this building to 567-569 Johnson Street.