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Monday, January 31, 2011

222 Mary Street, Victoria West

Here's another of Victoria's fine old brick heritage homes. I pass this one nearly every morning on my way to the West Bay Walkway for my daily stroll along the shore. I like brick houses in general but I particularly like this one because of how it manages to look so staid and proper despite being an eclectic mix of architectural styles. According to "This Old House", the bible of Victoria Heritage Houses, this dwelling succeeds in uniting Classical Revival, Gothic Revival and Italianate styles in one structure. It was built sometime before 1892 and during its long life has been lived in by a remarkable cross section of Victoria's population, including a draughtsman, a carriage-maker, a merchant, a sailor, a railway conductor, an engineer, 2 painters, a labourer, a biscuit factory packer, a machinist, a blacksmith, a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman, a garbage man, and a partridge in a pear tree.... I also like the way the surrounding modern condo development mimics the style and materials of this house.

4 comments:

JoJo said...

Well they never have to worry about it being blown down in a windstorm!

Dean Lewis said...

Must be haunted, nobody stays in it for too long. No wait, that's over more than a century ...

Dean Lewis said...

Went on Google streetview for this and saw that newer residences on each side appear to have done their best to mimic the style of this heritage one. Great idea and a tribute to it,rather than trying to 'trump it'.

tennisjazz said...

What fun! I have been doing some research on my house ... it has been occupied over the years by an electrical engineer, a royalty inspector, another BC government employee, an electrician and a school teacher, a waiter, a counsellor, a clothing company owner, and a systems manager now retired (me). I dug the information up in the microfilmed Victoria City Directories.