This is a continuation of my series on the construction of the British Columbia Legislature, right here in James Bay. If you are interested and would like to read more, you will find links to the previous installments at the end of this post.

I thought I would ease back into blogging after the holidays with an exploration of what I think are some of the more interesting features of the British Columbia Legislature's structure and design. And I thought I would start with the library, not just because I walk by it every day, but because it's full of decorative flourishes and stands as a noteworthy example of late nineteenth and early twentieth century public arcitecture.

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This is a continuation of my series on the construction of the British Columbia Legislature, right here in James Bay. If you are interested and would like to read more, you will find links to the previous installments at the end of this post.

By 1893 Architect Francis Mawson Rattenbury had work on the legislature's foundation well underway and was polishing up the plans for the second phase, when he suddenly entered a competition on a $1,000,000 contract to design the new capital building in Washington State. Controversy erupted immediately. What if Rattenbury won the contract? How could such a young and inexperienced architect manage two such large contracts without neglecting either one or the other. But then what if he didn't win? Wouldn't that reflect poorly on Rattenbury and the BC Legislature: The work of a second rate architect on a second rate public building?

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Francis Mawson Rattenbury, the architect who built British Columbia's provincial legislature, has become an integral part of the story that Victoria tells about itself. Not even considering the influence he has had on the appearence of our city, perhaps no other person has provided nearly so much material for the pedi-cab drivers, tour bus drivers, horse carriage operators, and others who make their living interpreting Victoria's history for visitors. Where would our precious tourism industry be without Mr. Rattenbury?

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By the late 1880s Victoria had enjoyed more than 40 years as the preeminent British, and then Canadian city on the west coast. It was older, though perhaps not by much, than any other center, and had fought off all challenges to stand as the permanent capital of British Columbia.

Victoria was also a significant player in west coast trade and industry, holding its own against its well established American rivals San Francisco and Seattle. The Victoria Albion Iron Works was the second largest foundry on the Pacific Coast. William Pendray owned a soap factory in James Bay, and the Loewen and Erb brewery produced 120,000 galleons of beer every year. There were also a number of other industries operating competitively in the city: cigar makers, carriage and wagon builders, shoes makers, various mills, book binders, meat packers, a vinegar factory, and a corset factory among others. All of this industry was supported by vigorous coastal shipping, which carried goods and people all up and down the Pacific Coast, and for which Victoria was the main Canadian destination. In the early months of the 1890's The National Electric Tramway and Light Co. began to operate the first electric tramway in British Columbia, only the third in Canada, with 9 kilometers of track through the center of Victoria.

Yet despite the energy and bustle, even in the mid-1880s, there were already dark clouds on the horizon. The unassuming settlement of Granville, informally known as Gastown, at the mouth of the Fraser River was chosen as the Pacific terminus for the transcontinental railway. This honour had previously been promised to Victoria, and it is likely that the decision was unduly influenced by speculators holding undervalued Lower Mainland plots. Still it is hard to imagine Victoria retaining its position as a trade and manufacturing hub when its mainland competitors could offer much easier, and cheaper, access to continental markets.

By 1891 Gastown had grown into the City of Vancouver and according to the census of that year its population was more or less equal to Victoria's. Even the prestige of Victoria's fancy new tramway did not last long as Vancouver opened its own system just four months after Victoria's trams began their runs. Vancouver was headed towards its current role as a world-class metropolis, while Victoria turned the corner and slipped into a sleepy, yet dignified, obscurity.

Victoria began to be known for its gardens and gentile high society rather than for its trade and industry. Rudyard Kipling summed the city up in a single sentence after his visit in the early 1890s: "I found in that quiet English town of beautiful streets quite a colony of old men doing nothing but talking, fishing, and loafing at the club." (Rudyard Kipling, From Sea to Sea and Other Sketches, 1899). It was starting to become apparent that Victoria's future would rest on two pillars, providing service to the old men and women who came to do nothing, and the patronage of the government combined with the spending power of the relatively well-paid civil servants.

But in the early 1890s the government by its outward appearance didn't inspire confidence as a replacement to the bustling trade and industry of the past. After 39 years it became apparent that the Bird Cages were becoming even more of an embarrassment. Clerks in the Colonial Secratary's Office claimed the walls were so thin that they could see through to the other side. In the winter of 1893 the legislature was adjourned for a week because the chamber could not be made warm enough for the legislators to do their work.

It was finally decided that a new and more dignified capital was required for the ambitious and growing province. Further, it would provide an opportunity to stimulate the local economy. In 1892 an international competition was opened for architects to submit plans for the construction of a new legislature. To ensure fairness entries were to be anonymous. Sixty-five architects entered plans under pseudonyms such as 'Hopeful', 'Patience', 'Utility and Dignity', and 'Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay'. One recent immigrant from Leeds, England, signed his entry simply 'BC Architect.' Well not strictly untrue, it was not entirely honest either. But it was not the first, last or the greatest fib in the flamboyant career of this soon to be famous young man.

Thanks for reading! Now I have a question for you:
Was Kipling right? Is Victoria 'a colony of old men doing nothing but talking, fishing, and loafing at the club'?
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Further Reading:
The Legislature has an interesting interactive website about the history of the legislature. Click here to Visit

Robin Ward, Echoes of Empire: Victoria and its Remarkable Buildings, Maidera Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 1996.

Martin Segger and Douglas Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1996.

Terry Reksten, Rattenbury, Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1978, 1998.

The British Columbia Legislature is by far the most imposing building in James Bay. It has stood overlooking the Inner Harbour for over 110 years, and in that time it has become such an intregral part of the landscape that it is hard to imagine a time when it wasn't there.

But, before there was a legislature the Songhees camped nearby to take advantage of the bounty of James Bay's tidal mud flats, and to cultivate the Camas growing in nearby meadows. In the 1840's James Douglas built his house on the South side of James Bay. Other local elites followed and James Bay became the first upper-crust neighbourhood of this small colonial outpost.

For several years Douglas represented the interests of both the Hudson Bay Company and the Crown in his dual role as Governor of Vancouver Island and agent for the HBC. But as the colony slowly grew it became clear that Douglas and his appointed council were not in a position to fairly govern the colony.

The Colonial Office decided it was time to have a more formal and accountable system of governance in the colony. And so, The first legislative assembly of the colony of Vancouver Island, consisting of seven members, was elected in June 1856. The meetings of the newly formed legislature were conducted in the Bachelors' Hall at the HBC Fort and much government business was still conducted at Douglas' home for several years after the legislative assembly was formed.

But when the discovery of gold in the Fraser River Valley in 1857 brought a flood of treasure hunters streaming through Victoria on their way to 'the diggings', it became apparent that more suitable facilities for government business were required.

In 1859 Assistant Surveyor H.O. Tiedemann drew up plans for the first group of capital buildings that would occupy the site of the legislature. The plans called for a legislative assembly, a supreme court, a governor's residence, a fire-proof vault for the treasury, a land registry, an office for the colonial secretary, as well as a military barracks. Unfortunatley before the project could be completed the gold rush petered out, the population declined and tax revenues dried up. Construction was stopped in 1860 due to lack of funds. Only one of the six structures was complete enough to be opened. The legislature and the Supreme Court had to share cramped quarters until the rest of the project was finally completed in 1864.

The six low slung structures with curving roofs and verandas were dubbed 'The Bird Cages' by the Gazette because of their appearance, and the name stuck. It was not exactly an affectionate label. The Bird Cages showed signs of cheapness and cost-cutting in their design and construction. Bricks were painted to look like stone, pine used in doorways was grained to look like oak, and cheaper imitations were used to stand for real marble on the mantle pieces.

At the about the same time that the Bird Cages were being constructed the first bridge was built across James Bay, extending Government Street and providing easy access to the new government headquarters. The transition from trading post to colonial capital was further enhanced when Douglas began the dismantling of the Fort's pallisades in 1860.

Except for a brief period when the capital was moved to New Westminister in the 1860's, the Bird Cages served as the legislative and administrative capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island, then the combined colony of British Columbia, and finally for the province of British Columbia. In the late 1890's the government decided to hold a competition to build a new legislature that would instill pride in the citizenry, and hopefully, restore some vigour to the ailing local economy.

But, the new legislature didn't spell the ultimate end for the Bird Cages. The new building was sited to fit the alloted space while leaving room for some of the older buildings to remain, others were actually moved out of the way. The main building, where the legislature had sat, was used by the Department of Mines until 1957 when it was finally destroyed by fire. Bricks from the other Bird Cages were used to pave the front carriageway leading to the new legislature.

Thanks for reading, In my next few posts I'll look into the building of the new legislature and the brash young architect who arrived to build it.

To see more Images of the Bird Cages Visit the BC Archives Website:
Victoria Legislative Buildings, ca. 1862.
Central Legislative Building, Rear View, 1866.
Assembly House, Victoria, 1860s.
The Birdcages in Victoria after a snowstorm, ca. 1870.
Photo Collage: The legislative buildings in Victoria, 1888.
A function at the legislative buildings in Victoria, 1889.

Further Reading:
The Legislature has an interesting interactive website about the history of the legislature. Click here to Visit

Robin Ward, Echoes of Empire: Victoria and its Remarkable Buildings, Maidera Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 1996.

Martin Segger and Douglas Franklin, Exploring Victoria's Architecture, Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1996.

Terry Reksten, Rattenbury, Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1978, 1998.

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