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Old signage on Quadra & Tattersall building


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#21 Sparky

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Posted 03 March 2011 - 12:54 AM

The old sign and the wood has been covered with stucco for years.

Here is an old photo of the Tattersall/Quadra intersection, previously posted by Sparky



Bingo, you are as sharp as a March hare.

I have much to share about this building, but first I must explore the innards tomorrow with my trusty camera.....the brownie.

Then I will return with stories about our most famous Victorian musician and his relationship with this building, down the street past the gas station was where Eddy Eng's dad had the Oakcrest, then IGA, and some other truly Saanich lore of yesteryear.

#22 Bernard

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Posted 03 March 2011 - 10:13 AM

Looking at some of the edge around the broken wall on the Green office, it almost looks like it could have been a garage conversion at some point.

Saanich Archives has the pictured dated as late 1940s - the building shows some age at that point so it must have been built between 1915 and about 1930

#23 D.L.

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Posted 03 March 2011 - 11:51 AM

The old boot and shoe sign has now been removed from the building and the boards replaced with plywood. Perhaps someone is saving the sign.

#24 Sparky

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 12:07 AM

Ok it’s been a couple of days since I said I would get some pics of the site, I had no idea I was about to embark on this journey.

What happened was that Dylan took a rather profound and naked picture of my corner store. Not now, but 50 years ago. I grew up on this street in the days when the “Beaver” and I matured together, along with David Foster, Eddy Eng, Pam Bentley, Pat, Jimmy, Doug, Ian and a host of other Victoria originals.

In our day it was “Phil’s Confectionary” that inhabited the north corner of this property. Phil would sell you two cigarettes out of a pack for a nickel. A pack of smokes then would cost 38 cents. Phil would pick up an extra 12 cents on a pack by selling the “deuces”. Yes, you could also buy a quart of milk and a loaf of bread, but we preferred a bottle of Orange Crush for 8 cents if we drank it in the store and left the 2 cent bottle with Phil.

Life was grand, 10 years old, 2 smokes and a bottle of pop on the way home from Cloverdale School for 13 cents.



Alright, picture me up on the scaffold the following morning (the scaffold must have been erected in the previous afternoon after Dylan took his picture), and some young pup (25 at most) says from the ground.

“Excuse me sir you need to come down from there!!!” (that's me in the shadow)

“Why?” I said.

“You could hurt yourself” he replied.

“Don’t be hideous, can’t you see I’m working with my camera up here?”

He goes and gets his boss, who climbs up the scaffold, looks me in the eye and says “What the hell are you doing”

I said “What do you think I’m doing? I’m taking pictures of this sign that you exposed yesterday……do you have any idea what you have here?”



We may not get to the answer about the phone number, and we may not get to the real answer of which shoe repair store painted the sign, because the history of this site is as varied as life itself.

My quest to trace the history of this building will take a while, I will share details with you as I piece the puzzle together. I swung by the Library in the afternoon and checked out the old “directories”.

I will bait you with a few pics….then you will need to return for more.

Who said Vibrant Victoria isn't exciting?





I will add to this tomorrow. Then it will start to come together.

#25 G-Man

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 08:07 AM

Awesome work Sparky!!!!!

#26 gumgum

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 08:29 AM

Yes, nice job!

#27 Bingo

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 11:23 AM

Now that's the kind of investigative reporting that will bring people back.

Who doesn't like a "cliffhanger"?

#28 Sparky

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 11:41 AM

Now that's the kind of investigative reporting that will bring people back.

Who doesn't like a "cliffhanger"?


I know Bingo, I'm a mess over here trying to figure out how this building was built. Like most small buildings in earlier times, it was piece meal.

Look at this corner, and look at the "bead fade" that is similar to the left hand side of the building with my shadow in it.



They match, with the exception of the top board.

Yes more later.

#29 sebberry

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 11:47 AM

That top board was from somewhere else.

It looks to be the middle of three or more boards once stacked horizontally, judging by the partial letters painted on it.

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#30 Bingo

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 11:47 AM

The width of the boards on the corner where the sign was, are different than the rest of the building, so some renos took place at some point and the boards with the sign may have been recycled from another location, hence the top board that appears to be upside and did not match the board next to it. It looks as if there was another "boot" similar to the one below it, that would have been part of the orginal sign.

Do the workers know what happened to the sign when they removed it?

#31 Sparky

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 03:03 PM

.Do the workers know what happened to the sign when they removed it?


Yes, don't worry, the boards are in good hands, I spoke with the contractor this morning, we will work together on this.

You can see how delicate the pieces of paint are.



#32 Bingo

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 04:16 PM

Yes, don't worry, the boards are in good hands, I spoke with the contractor this morning, we will work together on this.

You can see how delicate the pieces of paint are.


I would say that is some nice edge grain fir, that is hard to find these days.

#33 Sparky

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Posted 05 March 2011 - 06:46 PM

OK let's start with the street addresses.

This is the only document that I have found that has all of the addresses identified with the landlord.

Today the addresses are 3584, 3586, 3588 Quadra but that was not always the case.




See the "Hawkes Blk" notation 3584-3588 1/2?

There was also a "T Hawkes" across the street at 3577 Quadra.

Note the numbers to the right of most of the listings starting with E or G. I believe these to be telephone numbers.

E is 3
G is 4

In rare cases there is a "B" which I believe was a 2.

These will later evolve to "Evergreen" and "Granite" Evergreen prefix evolved to 38 and Granite evolved to 47

Note Saanich Reality at 3584 has a phone number of E0001 (this could be important)

I will try and connect Saanich Reality and the shoe repair later...note W J Falkner shoe repair has the 3588 1/2 address...that could have been in the basement below 3588.

#34 slinkyo

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Posted 07 March 2011 - 08:28 AM

Keep it going guys...Does anyone know what they are going to do with the original sign-perhaps give it to the museum or something? How old do you think it is?

#35 Sparky

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Posted 07 March 2011 - 08:51 AM

Keep it going guys...Does anyone know what they are going to do with the original sign-perhaps give it to the museum or something? How old do you think it is?


I will have more later today. I have to make another trip to the library. The contractor has had discussions with the heritage people at Saanich. Sometimes museums do not want this stuff unless it is VERY unique. Stay tuned.

#36 Bingo

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Posted 07 March 2011 - 10:11 AM

If the boards with the lettering was recycled from another location, what is the possibility that some of the other boards of the same vintage were installed with the rest of the sign on the back side?

#37 slinkyo

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Posted 07 March 2011 - 03:15 PM

The width of the boards on the corner where the sign was, are different than the rest of the building, so some renos took place at some point and the boards with the sign may have been recycled from another location, hence the top board that appears to be upside and did not match the board next to it. It looks as if there was another "boot" similar to the one below it, that would have been part of the orginal sign.

Do the workers know what happened to the sign when they removed it?



Just so you know, the board is not upside down..type does not flow that way.

#38 slinkyo

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Posted 07 March 2011 - 03:46 PM

This has got me stumped:(

#39 Sparky

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Posted 07 March 2011 - 04:17 PM

This has got me stumped:(


Don't give up slinkyo.

First of all I need to correct some previous statements about telephone numbers.

E was Empire later to become Evergreen "38"
G was Garden later to become Granite "47"
B was Beacon later to not become anything as far as I can tell
C was Colquitz note on the picture below it has letters as well as numbers and X was one of the letters they used. This may be useful later or maybe not.



Now The shoe repair story.

First of all the building in question has 3 addresses. 3584 to the south 3588 to the north (the part with the shoe repair sign) and 3586 is in the middle. At times there were addresses listed as 3588 1/2 and 3590 which may have been in the basement.

Ted Hawkes used to live next door to the south of this building at 3582 Quadra. He had a shoe repair business in his home at 3582. He aquired the subject property later in the 1920's and somewhere between 1926 and 1930 he opened Saanich Shoe Repair at 3588 Quadra, the north section with the sign. He also appeared to live accross the street later in life as mentioned in a previous post.

So the question begs itself, was the sign new then, did he take it off of his home next door, or another thought, there were alleys back in those days with garages, and it was not unheard of to have a business sign painted on the side of a garage? Or......was it a subsequent renovation?

Interesting changes over the years with this building. Ted Hawkes also operated Saanich Realty out of the same address 3588. In 1942 Saanich Realty moved to 3584, Quadra Heights Barber Shop took over 3588 and Faulkner Shoe Repair was listed at 3588 1/2.

In 1947 E. Rutech Shoe Repair was listed at 3590 (probably also in the basement)

J. Poberenski operated a shoe repair out of 3590 in 1950 and then relocated to 3584 the south section in 1952. This location was home to the shoe repair until 1964 when it was listed as vacant.

There is additional reading here towards the end of the PDF

http://www.saanich.c...aanich_core.pdf

#40 slinkyo

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Posted 07 March 2011 - 06:01 PM

Saanich realty was sold and moved to Douglas and Cloverdale in the early 60's.It's now called DFH Realty. (Dominic F. Hanley)

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