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Some long gone greats: historical Victoria photos


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#41 aastra

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Posted 24 October 2006 - 07:33 PM

I'll be darned. You're right, it is still there. For some reason I thought it was further away. I guess I didn't realize how close the building in the foreground was to the corner of Douglas. I was thinking it was more in the middle of the block.

#42 Lover Fighter

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Posted 25 October 2006 - 05:35 PM

Is the one further up called Deans Block or something like that? I recognize it at least.

#43 aastra

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 09:12 PM

Not a long gone great, but an interesting picture nonetheless:

i-01644_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives...


Edited by aastra, 17 March 2021 - 01:40 PM.


#44 aastra

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 09:13 PM

Sure glad the Salvation Army got rid of their old digs. The new place is so much better:

i-02069_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives....


Edited by aastra, 17 March 2021 - 01:41 PM.


#45 aastra

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 09:16 PM

b-04315_141.jpg

pic from BC Archives...

i-02368_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives...


Edited by aastra, 17 March 2021 - 01:43 PM.


#46 aastra

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 09:17 PM

Can somebody explain this pic to me? It's like looking at a different city.

If I'm not mistaken, a city block was eliminated to create the
intersection of Johnson, Pandora, Store, and Wharf (just before the bridge).

i-02471_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives...

i-02472_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives...


Edited by aastra, 17 March 2021 - 01:45 PM.


#47 aastra

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 09:20 PM

Yes, indeed.

i-02473_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives...


Edited by aastra, 17 March 2021 - 01:46 PM.


#48 Lover Fighter

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 09:33 PM

Oh wow aastra, you're right. I've never seen photos of that block before.

If you look at this old map you can see where they extended Pandora (through Cormarant) to and must have torn down that block there:



#49 Number Six

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 10:15 PM

Great photos!

What you can't see is the original E&N Station which was also torn down in 1972. I've never seen a good photo of the old station so if anyone can find one I'd love to see it. There is a partial photo on page 72 of Robert Turner's "Vancouver Island Railroads".

I think the "Rex Hotel" shown in the photo above is now the "Dig This" garden shop.

#50 Holden West

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 11:25 PM

My uncle seems to remember that missing block to have been home to a sleazeball hotel full of prostitutes. Remember, this was once Victoria's skid row hotel district up until the early 70s or so.

Interesting to see the cut-away corner in the "Dig This" building.

And the stucco treatment on the Monaco Lofts building at Gov't and Johnson is stunning. I didn't know it had been so completely covered over. So now it's had two rounds of heritage rehabilitation.

These pictures blow my mind. It's like an alternate universe.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#51 Scaper

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Posted 31 October 2006 - 11:32 PM

Wow Great Find Aastra!!!

#52 G-Man

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Posted 01 November 2006 - 01:52 PM

This is great stuff. I just had a walk down there at lunch and was trying to imagine the way it was. Was this all done when they implemented the one way streets?

Visit my blog at: https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com 

 

It has a whole new look!

 


#53 aastra

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Posted 01 November 2006 - 02:24 PM

No idea. This pic shows those buildings in context:

i-26442_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives...


Edited by aastra, 17 March 2021 - 01:47 PM.


#54 G-Man

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Posted 01 November 2006 - 02:29 PM

It seems like there was another couple buildings that are gone as well inbetween Northern Junk and where the Sally Ann Social Service building is now.

This must have been an expensive expropriation.

Visit my blog at: https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com 

 

It has a whole new look!

 


#55 aastra

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Posted 01 November 2006 - 02:55 PM

So when people say the Wharf Street parking lots need to be preserved, they should be reminded that Wharf Street was once a real downtown street with buildings on both sides (Bay warehouse and adjacent buildings included).

Ripping a city's original form to tatters seems like an odd way to preserve it.

d-01797_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives...


Edited by aastra, 17 March 2021 - 01:48 PM.


#56 zingzamzoom

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Posted 04 November 2006 - 12:02 PM

Hi guys,

This thread really IS sad....where did all these buildings go? Was it because of a fire that so many have been lost or just redevelopment? I find it funny to look at Victoria in the past because it appears that it was so much more vibrant as an infant then it is now as an adolescent! Usually it would seem that it should be the other way around! We used to have streetcars and large buildings (for the time) and now I dunno. I really think Victoria is in a transition state though. I think that as our generation grows up we will be more apt to changes and really want the best for OUR city.

Aaron

#57 Holden West

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Posted 05 November 2006 - 11:11 AM

From the Federal archives site Number Six linked to in another thread:

This is called an "unidentified Victoria street" dated 1912. But I can see the rounded corner of the Douglas and View building and the Victoria Theatre/Eatons building behind that so therefore this must show the S/W corner of Douglas and Yates.


"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#58 G-Man

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Posted 05 November 2006 - 05:44 PM

Yeah you can see the methodist church way down at the end as well. That building on the corner is somewhat more inspiring than the Shoppers and the bank building currently there.

Visit my blog at: https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com 

 

It has a whole new look!

 


#59 aastra

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Posted 06 November 2006 - 01:05 PM

Why somebody hasn't proposed replacing the Shopper's Drug Mart/little bunker bank with something good is beyond me.

Actually, limited vehicle access to the site may be part of the reason. The only access is on the other side of the block on Broad, right? It would be difficult to put condominiums there.

Funny thing is, if you proposed a five or six story complex (you know, something similar to the old Brunswick Hotel) the naysayers would surely have fits. That's what so despicable about the whole "preserving the Victoria that never was" thing.

#60 aastra

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Posted 06 November 2006 - 01:24 PM

Then again, maybe we should be thankful so much of the real Victoria was gutted and erased. If all of those magnificent old buildings were still around, the city would be on another level altogether re: a historical attraction. Heck, it might even be a world heritage site. New construction would be all but non-existent in an environment like that.

i-26509_141.jpg

 

pic from BC Archives...


Edited by aastra, 17 March 2021 - 01:49 PM.


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