…Ye Olde Victoria City Hall

Just a short post today as we head into the final 2 posts for the A to Z Challenge. The old Victoria City Hall. It’s still used today, and has been renovated inside, but it is not the main City Hall Building any more.

Built in 1890, the old City Hall building was almost torn down in 1963, but it was saved and designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1977. I just think it’s a cool building (although, I have to say, I don’t like visiting it – I’ll share that story sometime in the future), especially the “four-sided Gillet and Johnson clock, including: the original works and housing, and translucent glass clockfaces; and original bell attached to the clock that chimes the half-hour, housed in an open rooftop structure: (http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=1461). Anyway, there you have it – just something I wanted to feature here.

Here is Centennial Square, which was still built even though they didn’t tear down the old building for it.  There is always something going on here on weekends in the summer – concerts, etc.  It does get pretty lively, although it doesn’t look like it right now.

Here are some views of the NEW City Hall building, which links to the old one

And here is the OLDE City Hall Building. 

Ok, I was lazy and didn’t cross the street to take a picture of the whole building with the clock tower.  It was rush hour, and I was tired.  But there are lots of pictures of the full City Hall online, and here is one (the rest are mine…)

By Georgio at fr.wikipedia [CC BY 1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/1.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AVictoria_City_Hall.jpg

Websites of Interest

• Victoria City Hall at Historic Places: http://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/departments/parks-rec-culture/parks/improvements/fishermans-wharf-park.html
• Victoria City Hall at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_City_Hall,_British_Columbia

Part of the April A to Z Challenge.