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Long before KitchenAid created the stand mixer, before Ralph Lauren designed ladies’ dresses and before Levi Strauss & Co. produced denim overalls, the Hudson’s Bay Company set up shop in Victoria. In fact, in the early 1840s, the Hudson’s Bay Co. was nothing more than a trading post at the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Discovered by John Douglas and briefly known as Fort Camosun and Fort Albert, the post was officially named after Queen Victoria in 1843.

It would be another 80 years before work on the historical Hudson’s Bay Co. building would break ground on Douglas Street.

Acting on advice from the famed London department store Harrod’s, the Hudson’s Bay Co. wanted to modernize their entire image and to be presented as much more than just a dry goods retailer. Construction began in 1913 and, after a brief suspension due to World War I, the Hudson’s Bay building was finally completed in 1921.

Over the next several decades, as the fashion retail world began to rapidly expand, so too did the Hudson’s Bay Co. and its Vancouver Island location.

The retail space was expanded with a new addition in the late 1940s and in 1950 the very first escalator on Vancouver Island was installed in that retail expansion.

On the company’s 333rd birthday in 2003, the Hudson’s Bay Co. – now known simply as The Bay – moved down the street into what was once occupied by Eaton’s. The original Bay building was subsequently listed in Victoria’s heritage registry while it awaited redevelopment.

Three years passed before the former Hudson’s Bay Co. building, on Douglas Street between Herald and Fisgard Streets, would be purchased by Townline. Since that time the building has been carefully and lovingly restored. What was once the Hudson’s Bay Co.’s first Vancouver Island home is now a stunning collection of modern flats, lofts and penthouse spaces.

Photo: © Hudson Living

Known simply as The Hudson, developers have been diligent in maintaining the building’s history and former esthetic. I look forward to heading to Victoria next week to visit The Hudson, explore the suites for myself and see what the building – and the area – have to offer! Stay tuned…

All archival photos © BC Archives Collection private archives. Factual information provided by The Hudson and its developers.

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Few Canadian cities incite intrigue into its past more than Victoria. Though now a modern city in its own right, Victoria holds strong to the history that shaped and molded BC’s capital.

Historical buildings, century-old cemeteries, cobbled streets and famed stories exist to show n’ tell the tales of Victoria’s past. A brand-new walking tour will take summertime visitors on an historical voyage through some of the city’s most loved saloons.

ITT Wilson Tours welcomes history buffs or those with an appetite for a great mug of brew to join the Saloons, Scandals & Sweets tour, a tour that promises a “little scandal and a lot of intrigue.” Hear the stories behind the storefront facades, plant your feet in the same spot where some debaucherous deeds were carried out and find out just what happened in Victoria’s dance halls after the sun would set.

When: Daily until September 6, 2011 (and then Friday, Saturday and Sunday until mid-October). Tours depart daily at 2:00 p.m. and last approximately two hours.

Where: Meet at the Emily Carr Statue at the southwest corner of the Fairmont Empress Hotel grounds.

How Much: $25.89 plus tax – the tour includes stops at two local pubs; beer and sweets are included in the fee.

Who: Adults 19+ only

For more information, visit ITT Wilson Tours online or follow their updates on Twitter.

History will be made next week as the Kinsol Trestle is set to be unveiled after an extensive rehabilitation to the structure. Having spanned the Koksilah River for more than 90 years, this “Jewel in the Crown” of the Cowichan Valley has been a vital part of rail travel on Vancouver Island. Standing at 44m high and 188m long, the Kinsol Trestle is the largest wooden trestle in all of Canada!

Photo: © Kim Van Bruggen

“After so much hard work, we are very pleased that the day has finally come to celebrate the completion of the rehabilitation of this magnificent structure,” shared Gerry Giles, Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) Board Chair.

“The trestle rehabilitation project was a significant undertaking by the CVRD that would not have been possible without the generous support received from major sponsors, local businesses, community groups and individuals – all of whom share a desire to preserve an important feature of Cowichan’s history,” Giles continued.

Photo: © Kim Van Bruggen

The Cowichan Valley Trail is part of Vancouver Island’s Trans Canada Trail route. With the addition of a new walkway on top of the structure, the trestle has been transformed into a safe, vital connector on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

The community is invited to celebrate this historic grand re-opening along with former Duncan mayor, Michael Coleman. Residents are welcome at this family-friendly event on Thursday, July 28th at 11:00 a.m. Refreshments, entertainment and information booths will be on hand.

Those wishing to be a part of the grand opening celebration can take a quick shuttle from the Shawnigan Lake Community Centre (2804 Shawnigan Lake Road) starting at 10 a.m. Make sure you bring sturdy shoes as the walk from the drop-off spot to the trestle site is about 15 minutes. For more information, visit the Cowichan Valley Regional District online.

Though he had been born in Glasgow in the early 1950s, my father immigrated with his family from Scotland several years later and brought their Scottish pride to the Comox Valley. Each year, my grandfather’s smiling face was captured in the Green Sheet newspaper as he sliced open the haggis during annual Robbie Burns’ celebrations. Tea and cookies at our grandparents’ place was a weekly tradition and my father’s bumper sticker said something to the effect of “If It’s Nae Scottish, It’s Crrrrrap!”

Photo: NapaneeGal on Flickr

My family’s tartan – the Douglas tartan – and countless others will be celebrated on Saturday, April 2nd at Market Square in Victoria. Tartan Day is a family-friendly event and runs all afternoon starting at 11:00 a.m. Featuring lively Scottish entertainment, cultural displays, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread and much, much more, it’s safe to say that this inaugural event is not to be missed.

Volunteers are still needed, so if you can help out, contact St. Andrew’s and Caledonian Society of Victoria. Tartan Day officially falls on April 6th this year, so grab at pint at the Bard & Banker Scottish Pub in downtown Victoria.

Much of the Comox Valley woke up yesterday morning to hear the sad news that a local landmark had burned to the ground in an early morning fire. The Lorne Hotel & Pub, which has stood watch over Comox Avenue for 133 years, was gutted in a fire that started shortly before 2:00 a.m. Fire crews from both Comox and Courtenay battled the flames, but in the end, the Lorne was nothing more than ashes and charred wood. [source]

The history of the Lorne Hotel & Pub originated in 1878, though some local historians argue that it may have been built in 1867. An American man by the name of John Fitzpatrick, along with his wife, constructed what became a popular watering hole for more than a century. Until yesterday, the Lorne was, in fact, the oldest and longest-standing building in the entire Comox Valley.

Photo: Comox Archives & Museum Society

Named for Canada’s Governor General, the Marquis of Lorne, the Lorne Hotel & Pub had been Comox’s base of operations for everything from a hotel, a census and voting station and the place that served some of the finest whisky in the area. When Fitzpatrick and his family moved back to the U.S. five years after construction, the Lorne sat vacant for almost a year until the Cliffe family purchased it.

In the mid-1880s, German ethnographe Franz Boaz recalled in his diary that “the people at the hotel are very nice to me. You must not picture this hotel as anything like the Hoffman House in New York or the Capital Hotel in Berlin. It is a large farmhouse, several rooms of which the owner has given up to boarders. It is more comfortable than at Cowichan. The small rooms are warm and we are well taken care of.” [source]

Photo: © Bob_2006 on Flickr (used with permission)

Over the next eleven decades, only the prohibition managed to briefly slow down the Lorne Hotel & Pub. In recent years, the Lorne was a warm and friendly favourite for both regulars and tourists. Historian and architectural buffs were often enchanted by the expert craftsmanship that went into the building that was still preserved over many, many years.

It’s anyone’s guess what will be built on the lot in the place of the Lorne Hotel & Pub, but the void will no doubt be felt for years to come. Though the seaside town of Comox has lost a significant part of its history and legacy, the memory of the Lorne will certainly live on. As such, what are some of your best memories of the Lorne Hotel & Pub?