Victoria Hotel
901-905 Government Street, Victoria, Colombie-Britannique, V8W, Canada
Reconnu formellement en:
1995/01/19
Autre nom(s)
Victoria Hotel
Windsor Hotel Additions
Windsor Hotel
Liens et documents
s/o
Date(s) de construction
1858/01/01
Inscrit au répertoire canadien:
2009/12/14
Énoncé d'importance
Description du lieu patrimonial
The Victoria Hotel is a one-and-one-half storey, side-gabled building with Tudor Revival features. It is located at the northeast corner of Courtney and Government Streets, in the heart of Victoria’s Old Town. There is a flat-roofed projection facing Government Street that extends the retail display space. A two-storey Edwardian-era brick addition at the rear faces Courtney and Gordon Streets.
Valeur patrimoniale
The Victoria Hotel is valued as a testament to the most significant event in the history of Victoria and British Columbia - the Fraser River gold rush of 1858. In April of that year, thousands of miners from California arrived at the Hudson's Bay Company’s Fort Victoria. The miners were en route to the Fraser River, and the safest and fastest route was by sea. Since the only available port was Victoria, it was here where they could purchase provisions and equipment for the hazardous journey across the Strait of Georgia and up the Fraser River. At this time, Victoria was a tiny community that lacked accommodation, and a boomtown of tents and wooden buildings soon arose. An enterprising individual, George Richardson (1826-1922) recognized the need for accommodation, and in 1858 he opened the Victoria Hotel, the first hotel in the City, and reputedly the first brick hotel to be built in the province. During his ownership, Richardson opened the doors of his hotel to hordes of miners.
The Victoria Hotel is also symbolic of the City of Victoria’s transition over time into a major tourist destination. It was later owned by hotelier Stephen Jones II. Despite his original plans to demolish and rebuild, a more modest scheme was undertaken in 1913 that retained the original building and extended the hotel into a large addition facing Courtney Street. The original part of the building was renovated with stucco and half-timbering in the Tudor Revival style, reflecting the British identity that was being promoted for Victoria for the purposes of tourism. Retail storefronts were also installed along Government Street, reflecting its development as a major commercial thoroughfare. The first major hotel in the city, the Victoria Hotel continues to play an important role in the Government Street streetscape.
Source: City of Victoria Planning Department
Éléments caractéristiques
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Windsor Hotel include its:
- prominent corner location at Courtney and Government Streets, in proximity to the Inner Harbour
- siting on the property lines, with no setbacks
- form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-and-one-half storey height, with side-gabled roof and flat-roofed front projection
- original brick construction, now covered by stucco and half-timbering
- one internal red-brick chimney
- exterior architectural details, such as cross-leaded casement windows in the gable end
- interior elements, such as early cast-iron columns and a later fireplace with Batchelder tiles
- two-storey addition at rear facing Courtney Street, with tan-brick cladding, sheet metal cornices, one-over-one double-hung wooden-sash windows and an internal staircase with turned balusters
Reconnaissance
Juridiction
Colombie-Britannique
Autorité de reconnaissance
Administrations locales (C.-B.)
Loi habilitante
Local Government Act, art.954
Type de reconnaissance
Répertoire du patrimoine communautaire
Date de reconnaissance
1995/01/19
Données sur l'histoire
Date(s) importantes
s/o
Thème - catégorie et type
- Économies en développement
- Commerce et affaires
Catégorie de fonction / Type de fonction
Actuelle
Historique
- Commerce / Services commerciaux
- Hôtel, motel ou auberge
- Commerce / Services commerciaux
- Magasin ou commerce de vente au détail
Architecte / Concepteur
Fox & Berrill
Constructeur
s/o
Informations supplémentaires
Emplacement de la documentation
City of Victoria Planning Department
Réfère à une collection
Identificateur féd./prov./terr.
DcRu-876
Statut
Édité
Inscriptions associées
s/o