You may have heard of “Throwback Thursday” from social media.
We’re taking it to the next level! Each month we review past work that we have completed over our almost 40 years in business!
From residential to beautiful heritage commercial buildings, we have restored and manufactured thousands of windows, doors, and mouldings for our clients. Here are our highlights from this past month of looking back through the history of Vintage Woodworks projects!
VICTORIA CITY HALL
Victoria City Hall is a two-and-one-half story masonry building situated at the northwest corner of Douglas Street and Pandora Avenue in the Old Town District in Downtown Victoria.
This landmark structure was built in stages between 1878 and 1891, and is notable for its Second Empire style architecture, characterized by a tall central bell tower, mansard roof with dormers, brick walls, and round-arched window openings. ⠀
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For over 11 years, Vintage Woodworks has been restoring Victoria City Hall which has served continuously since 1878 as the centre of municipal administration and the symbol of civic authority in Victoria.⠀
It is significant as the oldest surviving municipal hall in western Canada, and is among the oldest in western North America. The City of Victoria was incorporated in 1862, which necessitated the establishment of administrative and civic services. ⠀
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During the late Victorian era, the city expanded rapidly, spurred by gold rushes and Victoria’s strategic position on the West Coast, and civic services grew in response. This building’s continuous use as City Hall represents a long history of public association with this prominent site, and is symbolic of Victoria’s pride in the city’s rich historic legacy. ⠀
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Source: Historic Places in Canada
WATER STREET GARAGE
The Nagle Brothers Garage is a two storey concrete structure in the historic district of Gastown. Now rehabilitated as commercial space, an inner courtyard has been opened up to accommodate new storefronts and allow light down to the ground floor. The front facade, with its Art Deco detailing, is intact.
This 1930 automobile garage is valued as an early automobile parking facility and service station. Built for Edgar G. Baynes (1870-1956) and operated by the Nagle Brothers, its presence indicates the early twentieth century shift away from a reliance on the railway and towards automobile transportation.
Vintage Woodworks restored this Gastown heritage building in 2015.
Source: Historical Places in Canada
THE EUROPE HOTEL
The Europe Hotel is the third and final phase of a commercial travellers hotel developed over twenty-two years, beginning in 1886. The development is of interest as the only significant business venture in Vancouver by an Italian immigrant prior to the Depression of 1930.
In 1908, Calori appointed Vancouver architects Parr and Fee, renowned for their utilitarian solutions, to design a new hotel on the narrow triangular lots adjacent to the existing Europe Hotel.
The significance of the former hotel is consolidated by its survival in virtually its original form and its proximity to the original Europe Hotel, one of Vancouver’s oldest surviving buildings.
Vintage Woodworks restored in January 2019 and we are excited to announce we completed this week!