HORG==> Tour ==> Government Street

INFORMATION Tour Home Contact Us Copyright © 2000 History of Racialisation Group Victoria, BC CANADA All rights reserved This page last updated 20 July 2000 Contact the Page Maintainer Hosted by the University of Victoria This site looks best with	Imperial Paradise? An Alternative Walking Tour of Victoria, BC Government Street -- The Heart of Downtown
	In the late nineteenth-century Government street was an elegant and profitable business address. Today, behind many of the original shop façade, the street serves as the major tourist thoroughfare in the downtown area. All along the street are shops which offer up pieces of Olde England and local aboriginal art side by side. Some merchants, such as Murchies, Rogers' Chocolates and E.A Morris Tobacconist have operated in Victoria since the late nineteenth century. In addition to their historic architecture and interiors these stores offer interesting glimpses of the relationship between empire and trade and are well worth a visit.

		Merchants are always keenly interested in what the public wants to buy, and as long as Government Street remains a tourist hot-spot it will reflect changes in the city's tourist profile. Today, Victoria is being defined as much by eco-tourism and outdoor vacations as it is by imperial nostalgia, and recent additions to the street, like Lush, sell products that appeal to the environmentally conscious without any mention of empire. Time will tell whether the imperial theme has had its day on Government street.

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