The RIDE
Take a ride on the streetcar through downtown Victoria in 1907
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- 0:00
- Welcome to downtown Victoria 1907.
- 0:02
- To your left, you can see the Balmoral hotel in the distance, located on the southeast corner of View and Douglas streets. On the southwest corner is the beautiful Victoria Theatre.
- 0:14
- As we turn the corner onto Yates street, you will notice W.O. Wallace's Grocery store, which is located in The Jewell Block along with the Brunswick Hotel.
- 0:19
- On your left, before we cross Broad street, you can see Nicholles and Renouf Hardware store, which is now the well known music and electronics store A&B Sound.
- 0:32
- Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching the intersection of Yates and Government Street. Chinatown is just a short walk north on Government Street. Those of you interested in exploring Canada's oldest Chinatown click here. Up ahead on your right, past Government street, is the St. Francis Hotel located at 36 Yates street.
- 0:50
- If you look to your left you can see the Five Sister's Block, which includes Spencer's Department store. In 1910 the famous block was the site of one of Victoria's worst fires.
- 1:10
- Coming up on the left, you can see the Challoner and Mitchell Jewellers, which was at 47 Government Street, at Government and Fort.
- 1:20
- You will notice that although the rules weren't that strict, vehicles were supposed to drive on the left in 1907. The law changed in 1922.
- 1:37
- The final building on your right before we reach the harbour is Victoria's main post office.
- 2:00
- As we near the harbour, you can see what appears to be an empty lot to your left. This is actually the construction site of the Empress Hotel, which you will have a better view of as we take a look around the harbour...
- 2:08
- Here is the Empress, the end of the line and our final stop. Named "the Empress" after Queen Victoria herself, the Empress of India, the hotel was designed by Francis Rattenbury. To learn more about it please click here, or continue looking around the harbour.
- 2:30
- Just over the harbour is Victoria's recently built Legislature Buildings. To its right is the Canadian Pacific Railway terminal.
- 2:59
- Thank you for taking our tour of the city, please feel free to take the tour again by hitting the refresh button of your browser, or directly visit the Chinatown, The Empress or the Gallary using the sidebar menu.