Fort Victoria

It never ceases to amaze me what we can miss on a daily basis.  I have walked the fairly short square block that takes in Wharf Street, Bastion Square, Government Street and Boughton numerous times since moving here and hadn't taken in the historical significance of area.

Jail House 1870's

 

On Sunday while walking through Bastion Square and simply by stopping and reading I learned that the old jail once stood where the Maritime Museum now stands.  The picture of the old jail (found on a stone utility box) was taken in 1870.  Not shown in the picture are the gallows which were off to the left of the building. 

Maritime Museum in the former
Court Building

The Maritime Museum (a place I have not yet been into) resides in a very elegent building which to be the Court Building.   According to the Museum's blog it has set its sights on the former CPR Steamship Terminal in Victoria’s Inner Harbour for its next home. I am not sure of its age, but it is worth a mention because of its stately beauty.  I am sure that a guided tour of Bastion Square would bring to light some interesting history.

Bank Building 1862(?)

The next discovery was the history laden corner of Fort and Government.   On the corner stands the original Bank Building that opened in April, 1886.  No longer a bank it is now a Scottish Pub called the Bard and Banker.  An Internet search found the following description by a former patron: "The Bard and Banker is a great, big pub in a beautiful old bank building right in downtown Victoria. The building has been standing on Government Street since 1862. It was the Bank of British Columbia all the way until 1988. The Bard and Banker has been open since 2008, and was named after one of the bank's most famous former employees, Robert Service, who went on to be a famous poet and writer. The pub is also featured on the Ghostly Walks tour, because it is said that Mr. Service haunts the building."

On the Government Street pavement, near the Bank Building, are two round brass plaques which mark the location of the east gate of Fort Victoria which was built in 1843.  There were two wooden gates into the Fort: the east gate on government street and a west gate on Wharf street.  The circular plaques on the pavements are a copy of the official seal of the City of Victoria (1862) and the of the Crown Colony of the Island of Vancouver (1849).  The outline of the Fort's wooden stockade, which stretched northward to the Bastion and southward to what is now Boughton Street, is part of the pavement's design and consists of small bricks with the names of early residents, city officials and legislators etched into them.  Another plaque close by tells us that the stockade that enclosed the fort was made up of cedar poles 18 feet high and that within the stockade were log buildings of the Hudson's Bay Trading Post.   Once again, I am impressed with how Victoria celebrates its history and brings it to life - if only we would stop and take notice.

Plaques showing the entrance to the east gate of Fort Victoria
on the corner of Fort and Government Street outside the Bank Building
and below the outline of the wooden stockade with names of residents

The last piece of history in this area is one of my favourite buildings downtown.  It is Victoria's first Customs House at 1002 Wharf Street.   It is virtually unaltered since being built in 1875 and is currently home to lawyers, a cellular, and other businesses.  It has heritage status so is protected from the insatiable development that devours many of the older buildings in the city.

Former Government Customs House 1875