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

Today, G is for Government Street!

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

I’m going to keep this post shortish, mainly because there is a lot about Government Street online.  So, I’ll give you a short history, some links, and then some current pictures!

What I could find out about Government Street:

Government Street stretches from Dallas Road in James Bay all the way up to Hillside, way away from James Bay.  It runs all through downtown Victoria, and you can find people walking all over the street during tourist season, as well as the horses and carriages, so be careful driving!

The portion of Government Street in James Bay used to be home to the Birdcages – the old government buildings here in our provincial capital.  From http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/Neighbourhoods/jamesbayhistory.html

“The series of buildings designed by H.O. Tiedemann were dubbed the Birdcages because their bell-cast roofs, half-timbering and ornate balconies gave them an exotic appearance. Moving the colonial offices to James Bay was daring because the new site was far removed from the centre of business activity in downtown Victoria. Douglas was accused of choosing the location because it was next door to his own house, thus enhancing his own property values. The bridge he had built across the bay in 1859, ostensibly to connect the Birdcages with downtown, was seen as another self-serving act. The governor denied conflict of interest, but was quick to take advantage of the situation by pushing a road through the western edge of his property from the south end of the James Bay Bridge, and creating lots along the thoroughfare, which he named Birdcage Walk. The resulting subdivision, Birdcage Terrace, became a fashionable address lined with Italianate and Gothic villas for civil servants, business and professional people. The Walk extended to the south of Douglas’s property and in the mid-1880s a matching pair of Italianate houses were built there for Hon. John Robson and his son-in-law Joseph Hunter (506 & 514 Government St). ”

Part of Government Street used to be called Carr Street, as it was home to famous Canadian artist, Emily Carr.

• 501 Government Street – the Birdcages Confectionery:  http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Government501.html
• 615-17 Government Street: http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Government617.html
• Picture of the Birdcages: http://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/government-street-looking-south-toward-james-bay-bridge-victoria-birdcages-visible-at-far-right

Here are some pictures I’ve taken of Government Street in the past.

Why didn’t I take pictures this week?  Well I was going to go out after work on Friday, but of course, the weather did NOT cooperate.  In fact, it was so windy, they cancelled ferry service off the island.  AND it was raining.  Luckily, I did have pictures in the old archives, so here you go!

At the downtown end, we have the Leg., and the Empress.

And the museum (this is the TC 10K race, going by the museum).

Heading back towards Dallas Road, we go down what used to be Birdcage Walk…

And the Birdcages Confectionery.

A little closer to Dallas is what used to be Carr Street…

And the Emily Carr house.

And one block from Dallas Road, a little library resting place!

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

Thanks for visiting letter G of my A to Z Challenge post of 2017.  You can find more G posts at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2017/04/atozchallenge-4-8-2017-letter-g.html.  Stay tuned for H is for... on Monday!!