Test of Time
The Enduring Legacy of Victoria City Hall
Donald Luxton & Victoria Civic Heritage Trust
The Songhees Village In the early 1860s, as Victoria grew from a frontier outpost to a thriving port town and newly incorporated city, the indigenous Songhees people lived in a village across the Inner Harbour from downtown Victoria. They moved to this settlement in the mid-1840s. Designated as an Indian Reserve under Douglas’ Wakefield System, the Songhees village was located along the northwest shore of the harbour, across from Laurel Point to the west, to north of Johnson Street. Also called the “Lekwungen” or “Stamish” village, it was comprised of rows of small wooden houses and structures. Adapting to their new circumstances, the Songhees lived in the village, hosted potlatches and other ceremonies, sold articles and food, and worked in fishing, sealing, construction and industrial jobs. 10
Despite several attempts by non-aboriginals to remove the village, it remained home to the Songhees for more than 65 years and was a seasonal trading centre for an area that included thousands of regional aboriginal peoples. The winter population on the Songhees reserve was 700 in 1858, dwindling to only 117 in 1911. In 1910, the Songhees signed relocation agreements with the federal and provincial governments, accepting a settlement sum of $10,000 to each head of a family. They transferred to a new reserve at Esquimalt Harbour in 1911, and the vacated village was torn down the following year. Early legal agreements with the Songhees are still in effect, giving them enduring rights to hunt, fish and gather food on their unoccupied lands. Above: Songhees Village with view of Victoria. Richard Maynard, Photographer. [BCA AA-00041]
Ambitious Plans Council was elected, temporary offices were secured and municipal business was underway. Debate would soon heat up about the building of a new dedicated city hall. Many hoped that a proper city hall could be built and ambitious plans were proposed to redevelop the Gaol site. Elaborate drawings were developed by architects Wright & Sanders for a grand interconnected complex of civic buildings including a Court House, Post Office and City Hall. The plan involved a three-storey high building with a 100-foot clock tower located at the corner of Bastion Street and Commercial Square, with the main façade of the City Hall facing Wharf Street. The proposed Council Chamber alone was 40 feet by 48 feet, with a 35-foot high ceiling. On November 24, 1864, a delegation including Mayor Harris and architect John Wright was sent to Arthur Kennedy, Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island. The group presented a petition asking for removal of the existing Gaol and to construct suitable city buildings on the site. The timing of this ambitious scheme would not succeed due to the weakening economy. In a letter written to Mayor and Council on July 17, 1867, Governor Frederick Seymour acknowledged the City’s resolutions, asking for certain lots of Crown land: “I have now only to repeat what I stated to you verbally, that in my opinion Victoria should possess some land of her own upon which a town hall or any other building required for municipal purposes could be erected. I shall endeavor to carry out my views without delay.” Despite these assurances, the idea of a new city hall was placed on hold for a number of years as Victoria suffered through a prolonged economic depression. Victoria, circa 1860, looking north from the Driard Hotel. To the left is the First Wesleyan Methodist Church, located at the corner of Broad Street and Pandora Avenue. Arthur Vipond, Photographer. [BCA I-67756]
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Bird’s-Eye View of Victoria 1878 Since civic incorporation in 1862, City Hall had four locations – the first three were rented. City Council met at the Police Barracks from August 1862 to February 1863. [Building #18: City Gaol] In March 1863, the City moved into “temporary” quarters on Trounce Alley and Broad Street. In 1875, Council was clearly aware that its new facility was not imminent, and it vacated its existing rickety old building to a third location, St. James’ Hotel, while awaiting construction of the new City Hall. Located at Government and Broughton Streets, the premises at St. James’ Hotel were rented for the next three years from the widow of architect and former Councillor Richard Lewis. [Building #14: City Council Chamber] The first wing of the newly constructed City Hall was ready for occupation on December 11, 1878 – this has been the location of City Hall ever since. [Building #20: City Hall and Market]
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The Stage is Set By 1875, with the city lots at Douglas Street and Pandora Avenue acquired and the design competition won, there was more enthusiasm for a new City Hall, and for Teague’s striking Second Empire design, which was impressive in the context of its frontier setting. Though clearly the poorer country cousin of the structures being built in eastern cities, it was nonetheless a landmark design for the new province, and determined the character of local public buildings at the time. The visionaries on City Council had won the battle.
Left: Birds-Eye View of Victoria, 1878. Above: Looking north on Government Street, 1864; in the centre is the two-storey St. James’ Hotel. [BCA A-03024]
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Far Left: City of Victoria Engineering Department on the third floor of City Hall, circa 1920. [CVA M00555] Left: Herbert Francis Shade (1875-1953), City of Victoria Plumbing & Sewer Inspector 1902-20, in his City Hall office. [Courtesy of Betty Eade]
The Business of City Hall Settled in its central downtown City Hall, the City matured into the new century, consolidating its position as an institutional force and Victoria’s centre of local government. Many of the services and infrastructure established earlier by HBC and colonial forces were now completely under municipal responsibility. With a burgeoning population that grew from approximately 20,000 at the turn of the century to 54,941 by 1961, the City enjoyed tremendous growth. This translated into new voter expectations and increased need for municipal services and staff. Necessary functions starting with one or two staff members gradually expanded into organized departments. Civic facilities were rapidly outmoded in size.
Intermittent upgrades and renovations were undertaken at City Hall to accommodate staff. At different intervals over six decades, Council made key decisions to retain City Hall for public services, moving some functions to premises in other locations – such as several fire halls, police headquarters, public works, storage for vehicles, machinery and tools, pump stations, parks facilities and community centres. Choices to decentralize crowded City staff were based more on cost than by deliberate design. Despite pressures to sell and failed schemes to centralize City services within one grand “civic centre” concept, the original City Hall continuously served as the City’s main administrative location and Council Chambers.
The building and maintenance of the city’s infrastructure, one of the key functions of municipal government, was undertaken by the Engineering Department from the third floor of City Hall, though some public works functions were later moved to other facilities. City planning functions did not begin until 1947 with the bylaw creation of a Town Planning Commission. Esther Marjorie Hill, first female registered architect in Canada, was the first woman to serve on the Commission. In 1956, a Planning Division was established within the Engineering Department, hiring its first architect-planner, Rod Clack, in 1958.
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Victoria Police Department
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The Victoria Police Department is the oldest police department west of the Great Lakes, established in 1858 by Governor James Douglas, and its history is closely tied to the history of City Hall. The first City Council meetings were held in the Police Barracks and Gaol in 1862-63. At the turn of the century, in 1903, a jail was built in the northern courtyard of City Hall. In 1905, Chief John Langley acquired a horse-drawn patrol wagon for the City, ending the practice of offenders being taken to jail in “hired hacks” or “dragged down the street.” By 1910, there were 54 men in the department including officers, jailers and desk clerks. Officers on the beat covered an area of 7¼ square miles. Chief John Fry, appointed in 1918, requested and received the first motorized patrol wagon. A new Police headquarters was built in 1914 at 625 Fisgard Street for the growing police force. Designed by architect J.C.M. Keith, this handsome building would house the Victoria Police Department for over eight decades.
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Clockwise from Top Left: Victoria Police in front of City Hall, circa 1910. [CVA M06573] Patrol Wagon, circa 1905. [CVA M06571] Victoria City policeman on a motorcycle, circa 1920. [CVA M06577] Victoria City Police Department, Fisgard Street Headquarters, circa 1920. [CVA M06109]
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Winding the Clock WINDING THE CLOCK “TOUGHEST JOB AT THE CITY HALL” Three times a week for the past 54 years an attendant has climbed the tower to wind Victoria’s City Hall clock. “It’s the hardest work around City Hall,” according to Ernest Bridges, “nursemaid” to the clock for the past 15 years. Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning at 8:30 Mr. Bridges, assisted by Joseph Green, mounts the stairs to complete the 20-minute task of winding the mechanism. The west face of the clock was five minutes slow when The Daily Colonist photographer took the photograph showing Miss Margaret Scott, secretary to the city solicitor. Outside of a little wear and tear in the main bearing of the hands, the clock is in as good shape as when installed, according to Walter Bolton, jeweler from the firm of F.W. Francis, who for the past 15 years has given it a weekly inspection. Only time it stops, said Mr. Bolton, is when the cold northeast winds of Winter cause ice to freeze on the face, stopping the hands. Because of wear and tear on the bearings for the hands, it runs a little fast when the hands are on the downstroke, and a little slow when they are on the upstroke, but it always strikes correctly on the hour. Conscious of Victoria’s reputation as a quiet and orderly city, the clock discreetly stops striking at 10:30 each night, to resume again at the respectable hour of 8 a.m. The clock was constructed in 1890 at Croydon, England, by Gillett & Co., according to an inscription on the side of the base, and was installed at the City Hall in 1891. Only breakdown in its long history was several years ago when a steel cable broke. — The Daily Colonist, February 28, 1946 Right: Miss Margaret Scott, 1946. [Courtesy of Miriam McPhail]
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The Annex Victoria’s population had increased ten-fold since City Hall originally opened, and it could no longer house the administrative functions of the new modern city. An addition was essential if City Hall was going to continue at this location. Sited to the west of City Hall and facing both Broad Street and the new plaza, the formalist modernist architecture of the City Hall Annex was designed in 1963, inspired by historic market halls located on public plazas. Arched openings encircling the ground floor connected the plaza visually to Broad Street and also referenced the arched forms of City Hall and the now-demolished Victoria Public Market.
and methods, including concrete waffle slabs and goldcoloured aluminum window screens. This was Victoria’s first example of an historicist influence on modern architecture.
rooms. The exterior brick and exposed-aggregate concrete cladding were carried through to the interior, with additional finishes such as terrazzo flooring, walnut panelling and stainless steel sconces and ceiling fixtures.
The glazed connection to the original City Hall was a graceful and deferential way to link the old and new buildings, and created a processional entry to the dramatic entry lobby. Entry to the lobby was through two curved draft locks, leading to a dramatic two-storey space dominated by the stunning sculptural form of an interior spiral staircase.
A second floor balcony overlooked Centennial Square, allowing crowds to be addressed on public occasions. Traditional elements such as bay windows and brick detailing were interpreted with contemporary materials
The Annex contained the legislative functions of City Hall including a spacious new Council Chamber and Ante Chamber, a reception lounge, the Mayor’s offices, an Aldermen’s anteroom and lounge, and adjacent committee
The architecture of the City Hall Annex, built in 1963-64, exemplified styling popular for civic construction at the time. It was an important commission by a prominent local architectural firm, Wade, Stockdill, Armour and Partners. This leading firm was also responsible for the design of Saanich Municipal Hall (1963-65), and it was one of the most influential firms in the development of modern architecture in British Columbia. Left: Interior of the City Hall Annex, 1965. Hubert Norbury, Photographer. [Private collection] Above: The Annex from Pandora Avenue, circa 1965. Hubert Norbury, Photographer. [Private collection]
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A Place for Celebration The revitalization of Centennial Square was further assisted in 2007-08 by provincial Spirit Square funding that celebrated British Columbia’s 150th anniversary of union as a Crown Colony. The site improvements enhanced the use of this important public space even more as a venue for outdoor cultural events and festivals. Original elements of Centennial Square remained, including the fountain, numerous benches and curved steps, all surrounded with trees and planters. The new plaza design included three key components. Spirit Beach, a canopied performance stage, was built to accommodate small and medium-sized events and markets. Spirit Garden was designed as a restful place to experience two First Nations Spirit Poles, a sculptured drinking water ladle feature and a native plant garden. Spirit Plaza, the area between the Spirit Garden and Spirit Beach, was enhanced by lighting, landscaping and outdoor furnishings. Butch Dick, nominated by Chief Robert Sam of the Songhees Nation and Chief Andy Thomas of the Esquimalt Nation, designed and carved two 18-foot cedar Spirit Poles to serve as a gateway to the Square’s native plant garden. Titled “Two Brothers,” one pole was carved by Butch Dick with the assistance of his son Bradley, and the other was carved by his son, Clarence. Both poles are fashioned after traditional Coast Salish house posts. The resulting Spirit Square added significant cultural expressions and captured the original vision of Centennial Square as the heart of the city, a townscape rediscovered once again.
Left: Spirit Square Opening Ceremony with Elders and Mayor Fortin, 2008. [City of Victoria] Above: Chinese Community Dragon Dance. [City of Victoria] Right: Spirit Garden Fountain. [City of Victoria]
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An Enduring Legacy Victoria’s history has been driven by new ideas pushed forward by strong leaders and entrepreneurs in times of confidence in its future, building on the values of tradition and the past. This dynamic tension is reflected in the architectural character and elements of Victoria City Hall and Centennial Square. The various stages of Victoria City Hall’s development visibly mark the passage of time and the evolving history of the city – from its early First Nations roots, to the pioneer settlement of Fort Victoria and the capital of the Colony, to municipal incorporation, to the capital city of the Province of British Columbia, to a mature and vibrant urban centre with a strong heritage flavour. The historic architecture of City Hall, designed in an exuberant period of optimism for the city’s potential, captured the flavour of its time and its vision as a civic landmark for Victoria’s future. Now adjusting well to 21st century values and functions in ways that its architect and leaders of the day could never have imagined, Victoria City Hall has continuously met the diverse and growing needs of Canada’s fifteenth largest city as an enduring monument to civic pride. Paired with Centennial Square, a visionary project of another energetic period of confidence, City Hall stands as a physical symbol of Victoria’s values of pride in the past and hope for the future. The concept of “the best of the old and the best of the new” has served Victoria well, and continues to inspire creative responses that integrate historic buildings with ongoing new development. Conceived in tumultuous times, the very existence of Victoria City Hall – and its survival – is remarkable. Despite controversies throughout its original construction, and various attempts to replace it, Victoria City Hall has endured – through changing times, economic fortunes and circumstances. As the cornerstone of a major civic complex, an important historic landmark, and a celebratory gathering place in the heart of the city, Victoria City Hall has stood the test of time. A positive and sustainable vision ensures that this extraordinary building will endure as a lasting legacy into the future.
Left: Centennial Fountain. [City of Victoria]
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Test of Time includes a DVD: A Townscape Rediscovered: Construction of Centennial Square, Victoria, BC. 1966. Produced by James Beveridge and Associates; [Courtesy of CVA]
“Centennial Square is both a monument and document. As a monument it summarizes the early evolution of a distinct regional variation of West Coast Modernism which was at the time being defined by the work of a number of key influential architectural offices in Victoria. As a document it critiques the more philosophical, abstract and iconic directions modernism was taking in Europe and North America, heavily under the influence of the International Style…the Square celebrates a more compassionate design vocabulary, one rooted in its own time and place.” — Martin Segger
1966 Victoria, British Columbia
A Townscape Rediscovered Construction of Centennial Square Produced by James Beveridge and Associates
Test of Time: The Enduring Legacy of Victoria City Hall DVD Reproduced Courtesy of City of Victoria Archives. © 2012 Victoria Civic Heritage Trust. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Made in Canada. [Image: BCA I-04782]
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Test of Time: The Enduring Legacy of Victoria City Hall is the remarkable story, told here for the first time, of a significant civic landmark building. A tale of survival and renewal, its rich history spans over 150 years, charting the heritage development of Victoria, British Columbia from a frontier outpost to a thriving modern city. Victoria City Hall has endured tumultuous times and decades of change – from a contentious beginning, through stages of construction, cycles of neglect, and numerous attempts to sell or demolish it. A bold new vision in the 1960s retained this impressive building as the cornerstone to Centennial Square, initiating the local heritage conservation movement and breathing new life into downtown Victoria. In the 21st century, restoration and renewal continue, ensuring a bright and productive future for this civic complex. Donald Luxton and Victoria Civic Heritage Trust celebrate the history of an important landmark with lively quotes and anecdotes, fascinating research, and beautifully designed graphics with over 150 photographs, maps and illustrations. Recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada and a municipal heritage site, Victoria City Hall is the proud symbol of a city that cherishes its heritage – an enduring legacy that has stood the test of time. By Donald Luxton & Victoria Civic Heritage Trust Book design by Lis Erling Bailly 104 pages with over 150 photographs plus DVD: A Townscape Rediscovered: Construction of Centennial Square, 1966.
Victoria Civic Heritage Trust
Cover: Victoria City Hall Elevations by John Teague, 1890. [City of Victoria Archives M09108] Above: Tiger Company Fire Department, 1892. Maynard, Photographer. [British Columbia Archives A-08650] Clock Tower, 2010. [City of Victoria] Centennial Square, 1985. [British Columbia Archives I-04782] Printed in C anada