Heritage Register
Burnside

2655-57 Douglas Street
Scott Building

Built: 1911-12
Heritage-Designated 2020

For: Robert Scott

Architect: Lord Wilfrid Hargreaves
Contractors: Pacific Coast Construction Co; Terra Cotta provided by Gladding, McBean & Co

ARCHITECTURE:

The Edwardian-era Scott Building, located at the key intersection of Douglas St, Hillside Av, Gorge Rd E and Government St, is a landmark in the Burnside neighbourhood. Key elements that define its commercial form, scale and massing are expressed by its: three-storey height, built to the front and side property lines; full basement; rectangular plan; flat roof with parapets, raised at main corner; and ground floor commercial retail units with storefronts facing Douglas St. Its masonry construction includes tan brick cladding on the two main façades, granite plinth blocks and ivory coloured terra cotta lintels, sills, projecting cornices, column bases and capitals, and decorative insets. Edwardian-era decorative features include the tripartite or three floor levels and vertical division with two-storey pilasters, Classical Revival features such as running acanthus, dentil and egg-&-dart mouldings, central entry with festoons, garlands, two fluted ionic columns and two engaged Ionic pilasters, ground floor pilasters with sunk panels and name plaque “Scott Building.” The window arrangement includes original wooden brick-mould and mullions, segmental-arched window openings on the rear elevation, and three leaded coloured-glass transom windows above the central entry.

The Scott Building illustrates the continuing redevelopment of the northern edge of downtown, through the replacement of earlier houses on prime sites during a building boom. It was in close proximity to both the industrial enclaves of Burnside and downtown Victoria. Designed in an austere manner, the Scott Building represents a superior, elegant example of the Classical Revival style that was popular during the Edwardian era. The richly-detailed main façades are clad in tan brick and terra cotta, with sophisticated detailing that demonstrates a high quality of design and craftsmanship. The terra cotta on the two main facades is the work of famed California manufacturer Gladding, McBean & Co, founded in 1875 and continuing in business today. It is a significant surviving design by architect Lord Wilfrid Hargreaves, who also designed the nearby Leland Building (2500 Douglas St) and the Queens’ Printer (563 Superior St, James Bay TOH2). Hargreaves (b. Manchester, ENG, 1880-1966) established his business in Victoria in 1909.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

It was constructed as a revenue property for local investor Robert Scott (b. Scotland 1858-1922). By 1875 Scott had commenced fur-trading operations in NW Territories, the success of which allowed him to open two large stores in Manitoba. Scott brought in butter-makers from Denmark and established the first creamery in the NW at Shoal Lake, MB. He originated the method of shipping butter in sealed tins, shipping as far as the Yukon and Japan. After retiring from active business, Scott relocated to Victoria in 1907, and acquired and developed large numbers of investment properties; this was Scott’s flagship property. Robert and wife Elizabeth Marshall (née Findlay, b. ON 1870-1955) married in Shoal Lake, MB in 1889. From c.1908 until their deaths they lived at 1587-95 York Pl in Oak Bay designed by John Gerhard Tiarks and built in 1897-98 for Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper; the Scotts named it Annandale for Robert’s birthplace.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:

• Map of Victoria Heritage Register Properties

• Burnside History

• Burnside Heritage Register

• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Three: Rockland, Burnside, Harris Green,
Hillside-Quadra, North Park & Oaklands