Past President – In Memoriam…

PROMINENT VICTORIA REALTOR…

Arthur Charlton Burdick was born in London, Ontario, January 30, 1874, son of Issac Newton and Helen Burdick. He was educated in London and in Ingersoll.

He came to British Columbia in 1897 at the age of 23 and went on to marry Vina Dixie in 1901. In 1907 he established Green & Burdick Bros., Real Estate and Financial Brokers, at the corner of Langley and Broughton Streets, in Victoria.

His partner was Senator Robert Francis Green, The Union Club of British Columbia’s 18th President.

Arthur Charles Burdick was a leader of the community and enjoyed a successful business career.

He died on May 20th, 1951, at the age of 77.

Canadians to Gather in Churches, Theatres and Halls for Royal Wedding Viewing Parties

David Spence (UC Member) is the president of the Royal Commonwealth Society and organizer of a wedding reception being held on the same day as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. His wife Donna Otto (UC Member) will be one of many Canadians who will wake up early to catch the royal wedding. “I’m going to enjoy every bit of it,” she says. (CHAD HIPOLITO / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

BRENTWOOD BAY, B.C.—Donna Otto hasn’t decided on wearing a fascinator or a new hat on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding day, but she knows where she’ll be at 4 a.m. on Saturday when the royal couple say their “I dos.”

Otto, like most Canadians, is thousands of kilometres and many time zones away from the ceremony at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, but she says she’ll be up early in Victoria to toast the newlyweds.

Theatres, cathedrals, libraries, hotels and banquet halls across Canada are booked for morning wedding celebration parties, with the hearty souls on the West Coast rising before dawn for the noon-hour ceremony in Great Britain.

“I’m going to enjoy every bit of it,” says Otto, a member of the Royal Commonwealth Society’s Vancouver Island branch. “Embrace it. My dress is a work in progress. I’m sure I’ll have either a fascinator or I’m seriously thinking of getting a brand new hat.”

The Royal Commonwealth Society and the Victoria chapter of the Monarchist League of Canada have teamed up to host a royal wedding breakfast buffet bash at the city’s 139-year-old Union Club.

Guests are invited to arrive at 3 a.m. They should be dressed in appropriate wedding attire, where they’ll watch a live television broadcast of the wedding.

“I call it fun, frivolous and foolish,” Otto says. “Why not? Sometimes life is too serious and we just need to … interject something that’s really fun to do. It’s an opportunity to focus on something very positive and that part of it is wonderful because there is such negative news in the world all the time.”

Wendy Hart says she’s excited about the wedding, but staging a viewing party at 6 a.m. in Winnipeg wasn’t generating much buzz.

Instead, the Manitoba wings of the Monarchist League, United Empire Loyalists and Royal Commonwealth Society will gather at noon Central time for a champagne luncheon to view the wedding on tape delay at the castle-like University of Winnipeg Club, she says.

“People were not that keen to get up that early in the morning,” Hart says. “It’s going to be so pleasant to watch it at a reasonable time of day.”

She says Prince Harry and Meghan have captivated millions around the world with their love story and the bonds they created.

“It’s not just a royal wedding,” Hart says. “It’s a union involving North America and the United Kingdom. We’re crossing the ocean on this one.”

In Toronto, where Harry and Meghan’s romance blossomed, a 7 a.m. viewing party is being held at the Duke of Cornwall pub, which has room for about 160 people. Participants will watch the ceremony on television, feast on English-style breakfasts and participate in a royal trivia quiz.

U.K. expat Paulo Antunes, who operates the Toronto online site Typically British, says he expects long-time royal enthusiasts and younger Harry and Meghan fans to gather for the celebration.

“Our event is a mixed bag,” he says. “We’re getting older people who have been following all the major royal events for years and there’s these young people who are excited for Harry and they’re excited for Meghan who lived 20 minutes down the street.”

Markle resided in Toronto for several years while filming the television series Suits.

Antunes says the pub will serve royal-flavoured non-alcoholic drinks, including Ginger and Tonic, Long Island High Tea, Harry Wallbanger and Bloody Meghan.

You’ll find festivities east of Ontario too. The historic British restaurant Bar George in Montreal is hosting a viewing party, complete with platters of scones and sandwiches. The Delta Halifax in Nova Scotia is hosting a breakfast spread with their live screening.

David Spence, a retired United Church minister, says he’s going to be wearing his McDuff tartan kilt to the breakfast wedding ceremony at Victoria’s Union Club.

At his Brentwood Bay home, just 20 kilometres northwest of Victoria, Spence, who performed the wedding ceremony for Paralympian and activist Rick Hansen and Amanda Reid, says he’s become enamoured with Harry and Meghan and what they represent to the world.

“People are infatuated with a young couple who reflects the diversity of what the modern Commonwealth is all about,” says Spence, who is the Vancouver Island president of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

“They have an energy level they are sharing with the world. They’ve gone through some difficult parts of their lives in order to reach this level of identity with people.”

The Union Club; Present Past and Future: the Billiards Memorial Totem and Time-Capsule

The Billiard Room – past, present and future…

During the 24 years that I have been a member of the Union Club, I have gradually become aware that one of the qualities I like best about the Club is the retro-style ambiance. I often point out to my friends and guests that coming into the Union Club is like entering the set of a Humphrey Bogart movie in terms of surroundings and general ambiance! It is beautiful, and also reflects and respects the style and good taste of the past. This authentic milieu is distinct and set apart, it is a retreat from the faster and more voracious Body-Politic that surrounds us.

Shakespeare quotation located on the Billiards Memorial Totem

The Billiards Room at the Union Club contributes to and is a part of this retro milieu; the room has  been in continual use for billiards and snooker-related activities for over a century! The tables and the soft green lights contribute to the general authentic retro ambiance. The same type of full size tables still grace many historic homes and castles in Europe. As such, the billiards room has a kind of understated elegance, and quietly contributes to the retro style that graces the building as a whole.

As part of the Union Club we respect the past and honour those who are no longer with us. For example, we have a Billiards Memorial Totem located on the east wall of the Billiard Room. This is an antique cue case that we use to honour the memory, by way of a small brass inscribed plaque, of the names of players who are no longer with us.

Billiards Memorial Totem; located on the east wall of the Billiards room.

We have also inserted a time-capsule tube into this totem! It is scheduled to be opened in 100 years time. This adds character and depth to the already excellent totem. We are using an anodized aluminium tube as a protective cover for rolled pages. Once it is sealed it will be both water tight and air tight and, hopefully, it will protect and maintain the enclosed information for 100 years.

We have included information related to three themes:

  • The billiards room milieu is highlighted because this is a billiards memorial Totem. We have included pictures and statistics related to our billiards and snooker activities. We review our activities, and this may be interesting for comparison purposes. Some things change over time, and some do not. If there is a group of people playing snooker at the Union Club in 2118 they may well be interested in these types of comparisons. We also have included some individual player page profiles of current member/players; these are interspersed throughout, and add a personal touch.
  • The purpose of a time capsule is mainly to provide “a snapshot in time” and therefore we are including information and references to current events at the Union Club. We are focusing on the first six months of 2018 as our snapshot in time. For example, the recently established custom of giving featured artists increased visibility at the Union Club is colourful and progressive, and I know they enjoy having their work displayed in our beautiful retro milieu.  Other current developments, such as the possible election of our first female President, would surely be a sign of the times at the Union Club!  There are many other samples of information that are suitable such as the recent heritage designation of the building, the Union Club finances, formal menu, and so on.
  • The City of Victoria. We are located in Victoria, at the Union Club, and some of the details related to occurrences that coincide with our “snapshot in time” provide genuine context and perspective. For example the “100 Year Johnson Street Bridge” is a perfect story to coincide with the launching of our (100 year) time-capsule.  Another example is in regard to the current Victoria real estate market; this may be of interest to future residents! In fact, there is much more relevant information than there is space (ie: pages). In the end, it is very interesting to select and locate information that will provide some anchor points to this “moment in time”.

Our plan is to complete the assembly of the time capsule by mid-summer of 2018. Following this, which includes adding pages to the outside as well as the inside of the anodized aluminium tube, we will shrink wrap the whole package, and it will be placed in the billiards memorial totem for posterity; scheduled to be opened in 2118!  Once this is accomplished we will seal the totem, probably in the early fall season and well before the end of the calendar year.

So, this is a small project, and very local to the billiards room, but it seemed a good candidate for a UC blog post! Thank you for taking time to read about our remembrance totem.

Best Wishes to enjoy the spectacular blush of the spring and summer season on beautiful Vancouver Island!

Brian W. Johnson, Club member

Shakespeare quote inscribed on the Billiards Memorial Totem.

Notice of the Annual General Meeting

Please take notice that the 139th Annual General Meeting of The Union Club of British Columbia will be held in the Centennial Ballroom of the Union Club, on June 7, 2018, at 4:30pm for the purpose of transacting the following business:

1) To receive the report of the General Committee for the past year and the Audited Financial Statements of the Club for the year ending March 31st, 2018, together with the report of the auditors thereon.

2) To appoint an auditor.

3) To elect a President, Vice-President and three Members of the General Committee.

4) Generally to take into consideration the position and the prospects of the Club.

5) To consider and resolve any special business of which due notice has been given.

By the General Committee
Dated at Victoria, BC, May 1st, 2018

Notes: Members in default as defined in the By-Laws shall be disqualified from attending or voting at any meeting of the Members. The following categories are entitled to vote: Life, Senior, Resident, Resident-Intermediate, Intermediate, Firm & Privileged.

Victoria’s-Own Cliff Thorburn Triumphs in Seniors Masters

Cliff Thorburn (center) with the John Spencer Trophy.

Cliff Thorburn rolled back the years to claim the inaugural Seniors Masters title at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield on Thursday, April 12, 2018.

The Canadian, who memorably won the prestigious Masters three times in four years between 1983 and 1986, dramatically overcame Jonathan Bagley 2-1 in the final after potting the re-spotted black in the decider.

Thorburn had earlier in the day received a bye in the quarter-finals after the late withdrawal of 1986 world champion Joe Johnson, who was taken ill on Wednesday and had to be admitted to hospital.

The 70 year-old faced John Parrott in the last four and a break of 51 helped him to a 2-0 victory over the Liverpudlian.

Bagley, who also lost in the final of the Irish Seniors Mastersearlier this season, had reached the final thanks to victories over Dennis Taylor and Michael Judge, the latter having previously accounted for favourite Stephen Hendry in a tense last eight clash that was settled after the Scot went in-off with the cueball on the final black.

Bagley took the lead in the showdown for glory but Thorburn managed to level and, after a long and tense safety battle, the “Grinder” completed a routine pot to complete the triumph to the delight of the crowd.

With the greatest of respects to the likes of Bagley, who has taken to the World Seniors Tour like a duck to water, or Jersey’s Aaron Canavan, who emerged as a surprise candidate to brilliantly lift the World Seniors Championship trophy aloft last month, Thorburn’s glory will go down as one of the most popular of the entire campaign and is a just reward for the fans who forked out in the hope of seeing some of the legends of yesteryear performing on centre stage again.

Thorburn certainly enjoyed his winning moment as, upon seeing the black disappear, raised his arms over his head akin to how he celebrated his famous maiden 147 break at the Crucible more than three decades ago.

The 1980 world champion said: “It’s very meaningful for me being back here at the Crucible. Jonathan actually beat me the last few times but I just felt good being here – there are lots of good memories here.”

“I’m 70 now and I get a little nervy but I’m just so proud to win the first John Spencer Trophy. John helped me to turn pro and he was a great friend for all of my life, he was a classy individual.”

It brings to a conclusion the inaugural season in the World Seniors Tour and, barring a few unfortunate withdrawals from some of the legends that couldn’t be helped, it has appeared to have been a roaring success.

Snooker Legends promoter Jason Francis has worked wonderfully at getting this initiative off the ground and there’s a foundation there now from which to build on and grow the tour into a long-term project.

With triumphs during this campaign for Thorburn in the Seniors Masters, Steve Davis in the Irish Seniors Masters, and Jimmy White in the UK Seniors Championship, it just goes to show that there’s plenty of competitive spirit left in the old dogs yet.

Past President – In Memoriam…

ALDERMAN OF VICTORIA…

John Lytton Mara, known as Lytton to his friends and family, was born in Lytton, British Columbia, in 1888.

He was the son of the Union Club’s 8th President, Mr. John Andrew Mara, a Victoria pioneer. His mother was Alice Barnard, daughter of Sir Frank Barnard, of Barnard Express fame.

When the Second World War broke out Mr. Mara enlisted with the Royal Navy and returned to Victoria as a Lieutenant. He co-founded Mara, Bates Real Estate and Financial, a company that prospered in Victoria for many years.

In 1925 he entered politics and was elected as a Victoria City Alderman, and served in this capacity until 1931. Mr. Mara was a keen yachtsman and for many years was involved with the Victoria Yacht Club.

John Lytton Mara died on April 25, 1979, at the age of 92.

Past President – In Memoriam…

CITY COUNCILLOR, KILLED IN ACTION…

James H. McGregor was a well known and highly respected provincial land surveyor. He lived in Oak Bay and was actively involved with the decision to separate from Victoria City, when a petition requesting incorporation was filed with the Provincial Secretary, Hon. F.J. Fulton on May 19th, 1906.

The petition of incorporation was granted on June 13th, of that year. James H. McGregor chaired the first meeting of 35 residents held at the old Oak Bay school on Foul Bay Road.

Among the prominent citizens who attended were W.E. Oliver, F.M. Rattenbury, William Noble, Frank Burrell and John Virtue. Some of these Gentlemen were very involved with The Union Club of BC.

Oliver was chosen Oak Bay’s first reeve. James McGregor served as an Oak Bay City Councillor from 1909 to 1914, when he enlisted in the Army to fight for Canada in the First World War. Captain James Herrick McGregor served with the 16th Battalion of the Canadian Scottish, Canadian Expeditionary Force.

He enlisted in 1914 and was killed in action during the battle of St. Julien, April 24, 1915.

The Union Club’s McGregor Lounge is proudly named after him…

Past President – In Memoriam…

PAST PRESIDENT – IN MEMORIAM…

M. Tyrwhitt-Drake – President 1884-1889

MAYOR OF VICTORIA & LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Hon. Montague William Tyrwhitt-Drake, born in Hertfordshire, England, on January 20, 1830. He descended originally from a brother of Sir Richard Drake, the famous seaman of the days of Queen Elizabeth. He was educated at Charter house School in London, and, in 1851, admitted as solicitor and attorney-at-law to the Superior Courts of England. He came to Victoria in the middle fifties, to become a member of the legislative council, Mayor of Victoria and Justice of the Supreme Court.

It was in 1868 that Justice Drake first began paying attention to politics; he served as a member of the legislative council for Victoria City from 1868-1870. British Columbia was then embroiled in a great argument – whether the province should join confederation, become annexed to the United States or remain a British Colony. Mr. Drake was a leader in the anti-confederation movement. Historians Scholefield and Howay say of Tyrwhitt-Drake: “One of the most memorable figures in the political, professional and general public life of this province, who, from 1859 to the time of his death, left the impress of his ability upon provincial history – proving himself a capable, progressive and far-sighted statesman – a man whose career forms an important chapter in legislative, judicial and professional history of the province.”

Judge Tyrwhitt-Drake passed away on April 19th, 1908 at the age of 78.

36 Hours in Victoria, British Columbia

The following article recently appeared in The New York Times:

On lush Vancouver Island, this urban jewel offers innovative restaurants, gorgeous parks and gardens, and museums that celebrate the area’s many cultures.

The Inner Harbour, with the majestic Parliament buildings in the background. Credit Ema Peter for The New York Times

This compact, eminently walkable city, set amid the breathtaking beauty and bounty of Vancouver Island, is lauded as one of the world’s top smallurban destinations. Beyond the picture-perfect downtown waterfront, British Columbia’s capital is an exhilarating blend of cultures, from Canadian and First Nations to Chinese and European (especially British). There are three universities, thriving arts and cultural institutions, significant historic preservation, a celebrated local food scene and Canada’s mildest climate: That means year-round forest visits, biking and golf; gardens galore (daffodils in February); even beehives downtown (at the Fairmont Empress hotel; atop the Harbour Air floating terminal). There is wildness too: “bear jams” disrupting traffic, cougar sightings and soaring eagles, towering ancient trees, log-strewn beaches and distant snowy peaks.

Friday

1) 3 p.m. EARLY DAYS

The blocks north of the Empress and west of Douglas Street, including Chinatown, comprise the Old Town. Start at Bastion Square and Wharf Street, overlooking the harbor, where James Douglas founded Fort Victoria in 1843 as an outpost of the Hudson’s Bay Company. This area became the heart of commerce, industry and government, swelling in size after the 1858 Fraser Gold Rush drew thousands of immigrants. Next to the Old Victoria Customs House is a grassy overlook with a display telling the history of British settlement and the indigenous Lekwungen people. Check out the lively Bastion Square pedestrian area of shops, restaurants and cafes, music and markets; then, on Government Street, browse through Munro’s Books, situated in a century-old bank, and founded in 1963 by the Nobel Prize-winning Canadian writer Alice Munro and her then-husband. Detour through Trounce Alley (note the 125-year-old gaslights), then walk east on Fort Street to La Taqueria to snack on Mexican tacos amid festive music and colorful tiles. A juicy carnitas taco with pickled red onions and salsa is 3 Canadian dollars, or about $2.35, and a Baja fish taco with cabbage, salsa and chipotle mayonnaise is 6 dollars; wash it down with Mexican fruit soda or local beer.

Munro’s Books, situated in a century-old bank, is a book lover’s paradise. Credit Ema Peter for The New York Times.

2) 6 p.m. ON THE WATERFRONT

The Inner Harbour is where seaplanes, water taxis, kayak outfitters, whale-watching tours, restaurants and festivals can all be found. Sit under the trees and watch the boats and passers-by; then head to the chateau-style Fairmont Empress, one of several luxury hotels built across Canada by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company at the turn of the century. Don’t miss the Q restaurant and bar, with its coffered ceiling, gold and purple accents and portraits of Queen Victoria. An elaborate British tea is served daily in the spacious lobby. The nearby majestic Parliament buildings were erected in 1898 to boost the capital’s profile after Vancouver became the railway’s western terminus. Open daily for touring, they are spectacularly illuminated at night. Thunderbird Park on Belleville Street is a quiet spot among the trees, where a regional First Nations house and totem poles were recreated by the Kwakwaka’wakw master carver Mungo Martin in the 1950s.

3) 8 p.m. THE ART OF DINING

Stepping inside Little Jumbo feels like a warm embrace: The exposed brick, aged wood and glowing copper ceiling take you back in time. The restaurant, which has received accolades for everything from design to food and drinks, is a homage to two New York City saloon owners in the 1860s who championed the art of dining and mixology. Dinner for two — try the warm Halloumi cheese salad, spicy Fernet-roasted nuts and grilled lingcod — including choice British Columbian wines, costs about 131 dollars.

The 19th-century Old Victoria Customs House exemplifies the Second Empire architectural style. Credit Ema Peter for The New York Times

Saturday

4) 9 a.m. URBAN OASIS

Fol Epi bakery is known for its wild-yeast breads, made from milled-on-site organic flours and baked in brick ovens. Choose from an array of loaves, pastries and quiches, then think ahead to a packable lunch of sandwiches. Walk down Douglas Street to Beacon Hill Park: This 200-acre oasis is to Victoria what Central Park is to New York City. The landscape varies from manicured and natural gardens to forest, swampland, lakes, Garry oaks and camas fields (originally planted by the Lekwungen, who harvested the edible bulbs), and includes a children’s farm and a 127-foot totem pole. Great blue herons nest in the towering firs and peacocks strut; relax and listen to birds fussing and fountains gurgling. Make time to tour the nearby Emily Carr House (6.75 dollars); the Victoria-born painter of forests and First Nations scenes spent her childhood gamboling in the park.

5) Noon. ALONG DALLAS ROAD

This scenic stretch on the southern shore of the city, from Fisherman’s Wharf to beyond Ross Bay Cemetery, draws walkers, joggers, bikers and dogs. Have a picnic, clamber down to the beach or simply marvel at the water views and roadside homes. Start at Ogden Point, where interpretive kiosks tell about the Breakwater and the Unity Wall murals painted on both sides, depicting Coast Salish First Nations culture. Walk out to the lighthouse, watching for sea otters and seals. Farther east, past Clover Point, cross the road to Ross Bay Cemetery. This rambling, peaceful resting place of many of Victoria’s notable citizens is also where you’ll find some of the city’s oldest heritage trees, cuttings from which were planted all over the young city (see treesofvictoria.com). Look for deer lying on the spongy grass among the weathered obelisks, statuary and stones in this wondrous place.

Seven modern gallery spaces adjoin an 1889 mansion to form the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Credit Ema Peter for The New York Times

6) 2 p.m. TO THE GARDEN

From the cemetery, head to the exquisite Abkhazi Garden, tucked away on a quiet block behind rhododendrons and Garry oaks. The tranquil gardens, with their several distinct outdoor “rooms,” were designed to harmonize with the rocky glacial outcroppings and native trees on the hilly property, which includes rock ponds (with mallards and turtles) and the 1950s Modernist summerhouse and former home (now teahouse) of the couple whose love story started it all. Suggested fee: 10 dollars (includes guide).

7) 4 p.m. AFTERNOON ART

At the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, seven modern gallery spaces adjoin an 1889 mansion that once served as the museum. On permanent display are works by Emily Carr and an impressive Asian collection and garden — second only to that of the Royal Ontario Museum. There are amber and ivory carvings, a Japanese Shinto shrine, and a Chinese Ming dynasty bell presented to Victoria in 1903. Admission is 13 dollars.

The Bastion Square pedestrian area is filled with shops, restaurants and cafes. Credit Ema Peter for The New York Times

8) 6 p.m. CHINATOWN

The 19th-century gold rushes and Canadian Pacific Railway construction drew thousands of Chinese immigrants to Victoria, where they settled above Johnson Street. Today, Canada’s oldest Chinatown is a National Historic Site, a small, colorful (especially red, for luck), vibrant community of narrow streets and alleyways, shops and restaurants, beyond the resplendent Gates of Harmonious Interest. The Victoria Chinese Public School, built in 1909, is still used to teach Chinese language classes. Climb the stairs to the top floor of the Yen Wo Society building to see the oldest active Chinese temple in Canada, honoring the sea deity Tam Kung.

9) 8 p.m. DOWN TO EARTH DINNER

Olo (meaning hungry in Chinook) serves up serious farm-to-table fare with a nod to the region’s cultural diversity. The space is comfortable and rustic, with warm light emanating from hanging spheres of loosely wound wooden strips. A recent meal included crisp Hakurei turnip salad, garganelli pasta with a meaty sauce, and a dreamy dessert (rhubarb, salmonberries, elderberry ice cream, fennel macaron), with local wine (about 140 dollars for two).

Agrius, which opened in 2016, is known for its organic, local menu. Credit Ema Peter for The New York Times

Sunday

10) 9 a.m. BRUNCH FOR BREAKFAST

When it opened in 2016, Agrius garnered rave reviews for its organic, local menu. Now the restaurant serves brunch, with hearty buckwheat and rye pancakes, egg dishes (cured salmon scramble with fennel, capers and cream cheese), house-made lamb sausage and pork belly, kale and mushroom Benedict, vegetable pâté, even fried oysters (9 to 21 dollars). In fine weather there is pleasant outdoor seating along a pedestrian way.

11) 11 a.m. ROYAL BC MUSEUM

You could spend hours in this stellar repository of natural and human history, with its singular collection of British Columbia First Nations archaeological materials, as well as provincial archives. The First Peoples gallery includes a totem hall and ceremonial house, an interactive language display and a collection of Argillite (black shale) carvings from Haida Gwaii, while the Old Town recreates period streetscapes and trades — a cannery, hotel, sawmill — even the 1790s ship quarters of George Vancouver. Admission: 17 dollars.

12) 1 p.m. DRIVE UP THE COAST

Beyond the cemetery, Dallas Road takes other names but continues along the dramatic rocky coast through neighborhoods such as upscale Oak Bay, where you’ll find art galleries and British-style pubs and teahouses. Stop at Willows Beach for a walk or a swim, then continue north past the University of Victoria to Mount Douglas Park. You can hike or drive up; either way, the panoramic view is remarkable: across Haro Strait to the San Juan Islands, toward downtown, or across rural Saanich. Hungry again? Head back to town for Foo Asian Street Food, where a hearty, steaming bowl of curried noodle stir fry with pork and shrimp, prepared while you watch, costs 14 dollars. Alternatively, the charming Venus Sophia Tea Room serves organic teas and sweets — Cream Earl Grey with scones, cream and jam costs 14 dollars — and vegetarian lunch items.

Victoria, British Columbia’s Quaint Capital, Finds a New Cool

The following article recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal:

Hipness has infiltrated picturesque Victoria, where wine bars and pot now mingle with Edwardian manors.

HOMECOMING QUEEN – Q Bar at Victoria’s revamped Fairmont Empress Hotel.

By Taras Grescoe

THE VIEW of Victoria’s Inner Harbour hasn’t changed much since Rudyard Kipling described it as a mix of Sorrento, Hong Kong and the Isle of Wight “with some Himalayas for the background,” during his lengthy sojourn at the grand Empress Hotel in 1908. Ships still dock beneath the massive columns of the Canadian Pacific Railway terminal, though the steamships have been replaced by high-speed ferries on the three-hour run to Seattle.

For years, mainlanders dismissed the city on Vancouver Island’s south coast as a picturesque haven for honeymooners and retirees, “the newlywed and the nearly dead.” But lately, Victoria has developed a hipper side. Tech companies now occupy brick warehouses, craft distilleries share streetfronts with traditional tea rooms, and marijuana dispensaries are popping up among the old Edwardian mansions. At times it feels like a Portland North, set amid the architectural glories of a one-time imperial outpost: a mashup of traditional and alternative, with a sneak-up-sideways charm.

The historic heart of Victoria’s walkable downtown is Bastion Square, where the city was born as a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post in 1843. Now lined with pubs and home to a popular Sunday farmers market, the square’s oldest buildings date to the 1860s, after the discovery of gold on the Fraser River transformed little Fort Victoria into a boomtown thronged by American miners and outfitters.

Prepping at Agrius. PHOTO: RUSH JAGOE

The Cantonese migrants who followed them from San Francisco founded Canada’s first Chinatown, and on Fisgard Street, the neon signs of the Don Mee Restaurant and the Fantan Café continue to lure patrons to old-school feasts of Szechuan seafood and sweet-and-sour pork. Fan Tan Alley, whose three-foot-wide entrance forced the local constabulary to enter single file when raiding its louche gambling and opium dens, now houses vendors of used records, handmade chocolates and Dr. Martens boots.

The streets around Lower Johnson, a strip where prospectors once spent their gold in saloons, brothels, and outfitters’ shops, have undergone a similar transformation. In the district, redubbed LoJo, brick facades are now home to chic boutiques and specialty shops like Silk Road Tea, a mix of day spa and high-end tea room. Off Yates Street, Little Jumbo restaurant channels the district’s past with a down-the-hall entrance and speakeasy vibe, where an aperol-and-absinthe cocktail makes a bracing prelude to delicate local oysters and lightly grilled lingcod.

Change has come even to the venerable Fairmont Empress hotel. After a two-year, $40-million-plus renovation, the trademark ivy has been stripped from the facade—the family of raccoons who called it home had to be relocated—transforming its former flag deck into a terrace with a privileged harbor view. A rooftop garden now yields the herbs and edible flowers on the menu at Q at the Empress, and four beehives on the grounds hone the honey served with scones and clotted cream at high tea.

There is still plenty of old Victoria to savor. The hotel’s unapologetically colonialist Bengal Lounge has been left untouched: punkah fans still sway from the mahogany-inlaid ceiling over murals of dhows and elephant-borne rajahs on the Ganges. And the corridors of the sixth floor—where guests continue to report sightings of the ghost of a chambermaid who plunged to her death in the 1930s—are still as crooked and atmospheric as ever.

The Milkman’s Daughter, a décor shop in Victoria’s Chinatown. PHOTO: JANIS NICOLAY

By contrast, Victoria’s alternative side thrives in the funky Fernwood neighborhood east of downtown. In the last decade, neighborhood associations have spearheaded the transformation of the buildings around Fernwood Square. An old Methodist church became the multi-staged Belfry Theatre; the Fernwood Inn, a former dive bar, was reborn as a pub serving local ales and ciders. The once-rundown building across from the Inn now houses the Crossroads, an espresso bar that has become an unofficial community meeting place, and the relaxed Stage Wine Bar, where one can dine on small plates of cauliflower pakora, Salt Spring Island mussels, and gnocchi.

A stroll in the surrounding streets takes visitors past book exchange boxes outside century-old Arts-and-Crafts bungalows, a community garden on the former grounds of a schoolhouse, and an ice cream parlor called Cold Comfort offering “Hoyne’s Dark Matter,” an improbable but successful combination of vanilla ice cream and brown ale.

A 10-minute walk south of downtown is the tranquil James Bay neighborhood, site of the childhood home of Emily Carr. It has been turned into a museum commemorating the life of the author and painter, who returned from a trip to France to create striking, Post-Impressionist takes on northern Pacific landscapes. View Carr’s deeply Canadian canvases of listing Haida and Gitxsan totem poles in the nearby Royal B.C. Museum.

In the Rockland neighborhood, perched on the highest point within the city limits is Craigdarroch, a late-19th-century castle built for Scottish railway-and-coal baron Robert Dunsmuir. The Downton Abbey-style splendor of its parlors, paneled with Spanish mahogany and Hawaiian koa, give way on upper floors to unadorned walls and bare floor boards. Dubbed “King Grab” by a local newspaper, which cast him as more robber baron than genuine royalty, Mr. Dunsmuir died a few months before the castle was completed, and never lived there.

The fifth-floor turret, with a view of ocean breakers and snow-capped Mount Baker, looks out onto what is probably Victoria’s greatest urban asset: the tip of Vancouver Island on which it perches. Its location in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains means sunny and dry summers (windmill palm trees grow in local front yards), and access to spectacular north Pacific ecosystems start right from downtown.

Victoria Distillers’s gin-based Empress & Tonic.

An excellent way to explore those outdoor wonders is by rented bicycle. Heading west out of downtown on the Galloping Goose and the Lochside Trail, well-marked and level bike routes follow old railway right-of-ways. Along the way the outdoor terrace of Sea Cider provides a stop for a light lunch, with high-octane ciders produced from the 50 kinds of heirloom apples that grow in the surrounding orchards. Farther down the end of the trail is Victoria Distillers, a craft distillery in Sidney, 15 miles north of downtown. A tasting of Empress 1908 gin, infused with dried flowers from Thailand that make it turn from deep indigo to pink when tonic is added, is a welcome reward for a long afternoon of pedaling.