Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The city of Victoria is the seventh most densely populated city in Canada with 4,406 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,410/sq mi).
Fort Victoria began as a fur trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company and was the headquarters of HBC operations in the Columbia District, a large fur trading area now part of the province of British Columbia, Canada and the U.S. state of Washington. Construction of Fort Victoria in 1843 highlighted the beginning of a permanent British settlement now known as Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. The fort itself was demolished in November 1864 as the town continued to grow as a commercial centre serving the local area as well as trading with California, Washington Territory, the United Kingdom, and others.
On May 26, 1896, in Victoria, British Columbia, a streetcar crowded with 143 holidaymakers on their way to attend celebrations of Queen Victoria's birthday crashed through Point Ellice Bridge into the Upper Harbour. 55 people were killed in the accident, making it one of the worst transit disasters in British Columbia. Only passengers on the left side of the streetcar escaped.
The Chinatown in Victoria, British Columbia is the oldest Chinatown in Canada and the second oldest in North America after San Francisco. Victoria's Chinatown had its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century in the mass influx of miners from California to what is now British Columbia in 1858. It remains an actively inhabited place and continues to be popular with residents and visitors, many of whom are Chinese-Canadians. Victoria's Chinatown is now surrounded by cultural, entertainment venues as well as being a venue itself. Chinatown is now conveniently just minutes away from other sites of interests such as the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, Bay Centre, Empress Hotel, Market Square, and others.
Fairfield is a neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia. It is bounded by the James Bay, Downtown, Harris Green, Fernwood, Rockland, and Gonzales neighbourhoods, and meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the south.
Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site is a 19th-century coastal artillery fort on the Colwood side of Esquimalt Harbour,. The site is adjacent to Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site, the first lighthouse on the west coast of Canada. Both the fort and lighthouse are managed and presented to the public by Parks Canada.
James Bay is a high density neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest residential neighbourhood on the west coast of North America that is north of San Francisco. It occupies the south side of the Inner Harbour close to downtown. Access to the neighbourhood is along Belleville Street, Government Street, Douglas Street and Dallas Road.
Carr House is a National Historic Site of Canada located in Victoria, British Columbia. It was the childhood home of Canadian painter Emily Carr, and had a lasting impression on her paintings and writings.
Downtown Victoria is a neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the city centre and the central business district for the City of Victoria, and the Greater Victoria regions.
Victoria Harbour is a harbour, seaport, and seaplane airport in the Canadian city of Victoria, British Columbia. It serves as a cruise ship and ferry destination for tourists and visitors to the city and Vancouver Island. It is both a port of entry and an airport of entry for general aviation. Historically it was a shipbuilding and commercial fishing centre. While the Inner Harbour is fully within the City of Victoria, separating the city's downtown on its east side from the Victoria West neighbourhood, the Upper Harbour serves as the boundary between the City of Victoria and the district municipality of Esquimalt. The inner reaches are also bordered by the district of Saanich and the town of View Royal. Victoria is a federal "public harbour" as defined by Transport Canada. Several port facilities in the harbour are overseen and developed by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, however the harbour master's position is with Transport Canada.
The Nanaimo Bastion is a historical octagon-shaped blockhouse located at 98 Front Street in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The Hudson's Bay Company, which then held a royal lease on all of what was then the Colony of Vancouver Island, built it between 1853 and 1855 to defend its coal mining operations in Nanaimo. It has been called "Nanaimo's premier landmark", because of its shape and its high visibility from both land and sea.
Saanich Commonwealth Place is a recreation center located west of the Patricia Bay Highway and north of Royal Oak Drive in Saanich, British Columbia in Canada. It was originally constructed in 1993 for the August 1994 Commonwealth Games, and is currently a prominent facility in the community. In 2002 the original weightroom was completely renovated and it re-opened for operation in 2004. Among the center's other features are a full-size gymnasium, a 50-meter competition pool, 4.5 meter deep dive tank with 1-, 3-, 5-, 7.5-, and 10-meter boards, and the Bruce Hutchison Branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library. The building's construction is unique; it features a red dome in the shape of a slightly flattened square pyramid over the main pool area. The inside of the dome boasts dozens of large, intricately engineered sound absorption ceiling panels. Finally, stretching from about one-sixth to one-third of the way down the pyramid dome's four massive triangular sides, angled multi-pane windows replace the ceiling panels as the focus of a backstroker's view. The facility is often referred to as the "Commonwealth Pool" by residents of Greater Victoria. Located only 10 minutes by automobile from Saanich's new Uptown Shopping Centre and only 300 meters from the Royal Oak Transit Exchange, which is served by 12 BC Transit routes, it is highly accessible to all residents of the Capital Regional District.
Victoria West, commonly called Vic West, is an historic neighbourhood of the city of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, located just west of downtown across Victoria Harbour, bordering on the Township of Esquimalt.
The Point Ellice Bridge, also known as the Bay Street Bridge is a major road-crossing of the Victoria Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia.
The British Columbia Law Enforcement Memorial is a memorial commemorating law enforcement professionals who died in the line of duty, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
1114 Arthur Currie Lane is an historic building in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
The Bay Street Substation is an historic building in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is located downtown, at the intersection of Bay and Government Streets.
The Belmont Building is an historic building in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Government and Humboldt Streets, just to the north of the Fairmont Empress Hotel.
The Bank of Montreal Building, or Bank of Montreal, Government Street Branch, is an historic building in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Designed by architect Francis Rattenbury, the building was constructed in 1897. It is located on Government Street, at the entrance of Bastion Square, a few blocks north of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings and The Empress. This building currently hosts the Irish Times Pub.
Russell Books is an independent bookstore in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. A family-owned business still owned and operated by the children and grandchildren of its founder, it has been labelled as the largest used bookstore in Canada.
