ARCHITECTURE:
This two-storey brick Italianate is almost the twin of 1521 Amelia St, with slight variations in the parging on the front full-height angled bay. It has a shallow hipped roof and a flat-roofed entry porch. The bay-wide panelled parging separates the floors of the bay. The porch is similar to 1521. The 2004-05 office extension fills the space to the left originally occupied by 1531 Amelia St.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
1892: Irish immigrants William Lucas (c.1830-1903) and Mary Jane (née Flynn, c.1833-1908) came to ON c.1850, then moved here in the late 1880s (two daughters married in ON). They lived here briefly then moved to Birr Cottage on Tolmie Av, Saanich where they remained until their deaths. He was a shoemaker, then farmer. Son John (1866-1919) operated a Rossland, BC hotel during the Klondike Goldrush. He married Dora Gall in California in 1905 and pursued mining in Nevada before returning to Victoria as a wholesale paper merchant. Son Oscar (c.1874-1924), a member of the Times and Colonist editorial staff, married ON native Beatrice Smith in 1905 and later moved to Seattle. Son Alexander (c.1872-1921), a Provincial Policeman, married Agnes Elizabeth Kirch (1878-1958) in 1896. Unmarried daughters Joanna (1868-1932), Mary (1857-1942), and Bessie (1878-1962) remained at Birr Cottage for many years. Mary was a school teacher for 47 years until 1932.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
1894: Electrician Thomas Watson and his domestic servant Miss A Engvik.
1897-1900: Robert Wentworth Higginbottom (1852-1929) and Margaret (née Huckerby, b. POL 1862-1946). He operated a provisions store on Johnson St.
1901-05: Bee Hive Saloon proprietor Lee Garret Burns (b. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 1869-1907) married Anna Charlotte (née Adrian, 1873-1946) here in 1891.
1909-11: Frank Keown, a painter.
1912-13: BCER motorman Sydney Clarkson (b. Yorks, ENG) married Laura Louise Cole in 1911. 1914: Severne Therriault, widow of Herbert, lived here with son Frederick.
1917: Yarrow shipyard riveter James Rowe.
1920: Mrs. Constance Allerton, widow of King Edward Cigar Stand owner Robert Leopold Allerton (b. Stoke-on-Trent, ENG 1883-1918) (1054 McGregor Av) . She married Fred Ford in Seattle in 1926.
1921: BAPCO employee Mrs. Ozelma Cooksley (née Coulter, b. Victoria 1904-1980). 1923: Master mariner Capt. Baptiste Ordano. Many renters lived here during the 1920s while the 1930-40s marked a period of Chinese occupancy. City Directories did not list names until
1937-42: Mrs. Shee Lee later translated as Mrs. Shee Low.
1945-48: Labourer and cook Fong Wong and his wife Lee.
1950-52: Margaret Scott Dickinson (née McQueen, b. SCT 1886-1957) widow of Robert Henry Dickinson (1885-1944).
1953-61: Retirees Charles Paul Mario (b. Nancy, FRA 1883-1984) and Marie Julie