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Dollar Tree - 1420 Douglas St.


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#41 martini

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Posted 07 June 2008 - 07:00 PM

That's right, it changed hands earlier in the decade but the owner has only recently begun making renos.


Ah ok. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I didn't realize it was that long ago.

#42 G-Man

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Posted 07 June 2008 - 08:23 PM

They only bought it about 3 years ago. So they were just waiting for the right time to rebuild. I have no issue with them.

#43 aastra

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Posted 08 June 2008 - 01:06 PM

The colour isn't the problem. If the very same colour were applied to the actual facade beneath that false front, I suspect people would be very pleased with it. It'd be just another brightly painted building in the old town. The problem is the false front, which was ugly enough to begin with when it was drab. Now that it's such a bright colour, you can't ignore it.

#44 G-Man

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Posted 08 June 2008 - 04:07 PM

That could be a heritage facade.

#45 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 08 June 2008 - 05:42 PM

I have no problem with the dollar store. It's ugly and yellow, who cares it's their shop and they'll paint it how they please. Heck the happy colour puts a smile on my face. If anyone told me what colour I could paint my house they'd have a fight on their hands. Any city that doesn't have a few buildings like this are just plain boring and sterile. I like it, some don't. It's subjective so let the owner decide.

Some people are just too picky and think their tastes are some objective truth, and if we let the majority opinion decide all our architecture we'll be stuck with **** like the Songhees. Architecture by committee. I know the dollar store is ugly, it's an ugly building. I think the yellow colour just embrases that uglyness and takes it to an almost comical extreme which in turn, for me, makes it worth a smile and a laugh. There's some absolutely objective ways we can determine if a building is good or not. The engineering, the space-use, the pedestrian friendliness (from a layout/setbacks perspective) and this site is great at assessing buildings from that point, but I notice some of us take our absolute "rightness" over issues like wanting to see zero-setbacks on storefronts and more density downtown and apply it to matters of taste. Yellow is an incorrect colour! Glass blocks are only for the 80's! Exposed concrete is wrong! It's fine to say that's just your taste on the matter, but to go so far as to say the city should "do something about it" reeks of the very sort of meddling nimbyism that's stangled our city for so long.

Or at least that's how I feel about it. I'd probably say the new dollar store was ugly if it wasn't for the huge backlash and demands for government action against it. I've become a defender of it simply in principle.


Excellent post. That's how I feel too.

#46 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 04 May 2009 - 04:34 PM

I noticed today that all prices wert up to $1.25 some time recently. 25% increase! :eek:

Still some pretty amazing deals, let me tell ya.

http://www.nowpublic...r-store-no-more

Their website seems to indicate that some stores might still be $1, as they talk about "a single price point" rather than specifics.

#47 Dinya

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Posted 22 July 2009 - 09:44 AM

Whatever happened to this being repainted? It really does stick out like a sore thumb on that block now that the Rialto is all renovated.

#48 Baro

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Posted 22 July 2009 - 12:23 PM

Well it's no longer dollar giant but 1.25 giant, they should paint it neon green to celebrate.
"beats greezy have baked donut-dough"

#49 Caramia

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Posted 22 July 2009 - 08:27 PM

Say what you will, it's at least a conversation piece. Neon Yellow building in the middle of heritage downtown? It has an absurd beauty. Almost modern art.
:D
Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes.
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#50 Kikadee

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Posted 23 July 2009 - 08:27 AM

Absurd beauty, sure, I see where you're coming from. It's a big old jovial eff you to the Rialto and Parker Block. Fine for downtown, but would I want a single one of my neighbour's houses to be painted that colour? Hell no!

(An aside: someone on Tattersall just reno'd their house, took a couple years to do it, and then painted it icy pale blue with royal blue trim. It looks like Superman's arctic hideaway landed in a garry oak meadow. I feel for the people across the street, whose blinds must just stay closed.)

When Dollar Giant was still Field's, I would sit at the bus-stop opposite and sincerely wish that they would restore that building. Either the false-fronted incarnation (repairing and actually using the tattered striped roll-out awnings, repainting the weird "lozenge" with the F on it) or whatever heritage facade there was/is behind it.

Anyone know when it became Field's, or what was in that space prior to Field's?

#51 Holden West

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Posted 23 July 2009 - 09:01 AM

Anyone know when it became Field's, or what was in that space prior to Field's?


Judging by the Googie-ish architecture, I'd say late 50s at the earliest.

Here are the two buildings under the facade. As you can see, one is a hardware store in this 1947 photo.


"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

#52 Phil McAvity

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Posted 25 July 2009 - 06:25 AM

Judging by the Googie-ish architecture


I thought you said, "Google-ish architecture" so I thought wow and I remember when they were just a search engine.
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#53 Holden West

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Posted 01 December 2009 - 08:53 PM

I challenge VHF to duplicate this stunt:

A week on the dollar-store diet leaves me queasy

You can technically live on just the foods sold at the dollar store, at least for a week. After a month it'd probably kill you


You also realize that while you can technically survive on the dollar-store diet, at least for a week, making it your only food source would probably kill you in a month or two. Bargain-basement beans and stew aren't exactly a great source for all your daily vitamins and minerals.

Living out of the dollar store also makes you realize there are a few things worth paying a few extra bucks for. Have you tasted dollar-store coffee? While it isn't bad enough to make you do a spit-take or gag, nor is it all that great. Starting the day with a crappy cup of coffee makes for a crappy day.


"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

#54 Holden West

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Posted 15 June 2011 - 12:03 AM

Whatever happened to this being repainted? It really does stick out like a sore thumb on that block now that the Rialto is all renovated.


A while ago it was repainted in toned-down shades of yellow and green.
"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

#55 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 04:03 PM

Sometimes I go into this dollar store, just to see what humans can possibly make, ship, and sell for a profit, all for $1.25 or less. It reinstates my respect for the human spirit.

Anyway, today they have some little garden lights, complete with bulb, battery and solar recharging cell in the top, on an 8" high stake you push into the dirt. Like NOMA patio lights, but 300x cheaper, with no wiring.

Let's see, what else....

Oh, they had an 18-pack of little capsules you put into water, and they blow up into wild animal shapes. That might be fun for bar tricks, slipping it into people's drinks. That seemed like good value.

10 count disposable razor packs. $0.125 each, that's pretty good.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#56 Baro

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 04:30 PM

The spirit of slavery is inspiring.
"beats greezy have baked donut-dough"

#57 Holden West

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 06:48 PM

^^How did that Turkish "Time" laundry detergent work out for you?
"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 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 24 March 2012 - 07:03 PM

^^How did that Turkish "Time" laundry detergent work out for you?


In blind consumer tests vs. the leading North American brand, it was determined that blind people aren't allowed to use washing machines. So no verdict.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#59 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 07 April 2012 - 06:05 PM

Was there today. Picked up a few items.

Was gonna pick up some Shasta brand pop at $1 for 2L, but they were sold out of everything except soda water or something.

I did spy some authentic Jello brand pudding packs. A four-pack for $1. That's good value.

But looking closer, the cardboard packaging says "best before date on cups".

There was vanilla and butterscotch.

On the vanilla they had a series of numbers and letters, and a clear 10 Nov 04

On butterscotch the corresponding label said 12 Nov 14

Any way I try to read that, it looks like vanilla is either nearing 18 months past the best before date, or around 8 years past.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#60 Holden West

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Posted 07 April 2012 - 06:42 PM

^Dairy products that expired during George W. Bush's first term. Awesome.
"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

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