Welcome to my April 2017 Great and Powerful 2017 Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

Today, C is for Clarence Street!

Here is a Google map showing where Clarence Street is located in James Bay.

Clarence Street is one block, from Niagara Street to Simcoe.  It runs parallel to the street I live on, and you can see the tall apartment block behind our house.

What I could find out about Clarence Street:

• 112 Clarence Street: http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Clarence112.html
• 146 Clarence Street:  http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Clarence146.html

This second house is important, as it gives us the origin of the name Clarence Street.  To quote the page above:

“William John Goepel paid the taxes until 1897. Born in London, England, he came to BC in 1875 and married Sarah Bate in 1881. He was a gentleman and real estate agent, but may have lost money in the 1893 depression, because by 1895 he was a gold commissioner in the Kootenays (his residence was still listed as 38 Simcoe), and by 1898 a Government Inspector in Nelson, BC. The Goepels returned to Victoria by 1920, and William became Deputy Minister of Finance for the Province. He died in Victoria in 1936 at 79. Sarah was the daughter of Mark Bate, first mayor of Nanaimo, BC, in 1875, and a long-time member of St. Mary’s Anglican Church Choir in Oak Bay, Sir James and Lady Douglas Chapter of IODE, the Women’s Club, and BC Historical Association. She was also active in charitable organizations, including the Women’s Auxiliary of St. Mary’s Church, as president of the Altar Guild, the Mothers’ Union and Little Helpers, and the Friendly Help Club. Sarah died in 1944 at 92. Clarence St was named after the Goepels’ youngest son, Clarence Dorset Goepel (1883-1947). Born in Victoria, he lived in Oak Bay 35 years and owned Pacific Chemical Co.”

Here are some pictures I took of Clarence Street just this week.

Looking towards Simcoe.

Looking back towards Niagara

146 Clarence (see link above)

The teacup plum tree

What else do you want to know about Clarence Street?  Ask away, and I will see what I can find out for you!

Thanks for visiting letter C of my A to Z Challenge post of 2017.  You can find more C posts at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2017/04/atozchallenge-4-4-2017-letter-c.html.  Stay tuned for D is for… tomorrow!!