Description of Historic Place

Overlooking Georgia Strait and the town's first golf course, the Crown Mansion is a large, two and one-half storey Georgian Revival style building, now incorporated as part of a hotel and condominium complex. The historic place is confined to the footprint of the original building.

Heritage Value

Built in 1914, the Crown Mansion is a very good example of Georgian Revival style, a style popular with the province’s elite during the first quarter of the twentieth century. The building’s large scale, symmetrical composition and simple detailing projected a sense of history, formality and graciousness that reflected the social status of original owner Brigadier General Noel Money. When the building was converted into a hotel in the 2000s, a porte-cochere was added to the front entrance and a condominium complex was attached at the north elevation. Although these changes were substantial, the original building is still clearly discernible. Even with these later additions, the Crown Mansion suggests, however romanticized, a bygone era of grand, gracious country estates.

The Crown Mansion is also valued for its association with original owner Brigadier General Noel Money, who played a key role in the early development of Qualicum Beach. Born in Montreal and educated in England, Money first came to Qualicum Beach on a fishing trip in 1913. Much taken with the area, Money purchased six lots from the Merchant’s Trust and Trading Company, who were in the process of building the Qualicum Beach Hotel and adjacent golf course. Money returned to Qualicum Beach after the First World War to manage the new hotel and golf course. For the next twenty years, Money, at ease among the wealthy and famous, was able to attract numerous Hollywood celebrities, well-known politicians and royalty to the hotel. The upscale clientele helped mark Qualicum Beach as a superior resort destination and set the tone and direction for future town development. In this respect, Money’s contribution to the exclusive, upscale character that defines Qualicum Beach today is significant.

The Crown Mansion is a landmark because of its large scale and prominent location on a major thoroughfare overlooking a golf course and Georgia Strait.

Source: Town of Qualicum Beach, Corporate Administration

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Crown Mansion include:
- all of the elements of the Georgian Revival style, as expressed in the symmetrical massing, rectangular form, double-height bay windows flanking the central entrance, hipped roof with closed eaves and paired dormers, paired chimneys, shingle siding on the lower storey and twin-coursed shingle siding on the upper storey, and combination of single, double and triple assembly multi-pane windows
- the building’s location on a major thoroughfare with unimpeded views of the golf course and Georgia Strait