Heritage Register
Harris Green
1030 Cook Street
October Mansion
Built
1909-10
Heritage-Designated 2012
For: Albert Todd for his wife Ada
Architect/Contractor: George Charles Mesher & Co
ARCHITECTURE:
October Mansion was designed and built as a 90-room apartment block by George C. Mesher & Co. The
landmark building has frontage on three streets, Fort,
Cook and Meares, with the main entrance on Cook St. This
Edwardian brick apartment building has a full basement
and eight suites on each of three floors. The ceiling height
on all four floors is nine feet. There were originally two,
three and four room apartments in this 24-suite building. Each apartment had its own bathroom; kitchens were
counted as one of the rooms. Each bedroom had a closet
and an alcove recess for a bed. Each living room had a built-in sideboard, and a recessed alcove. The kitchens had
large built-in cabinets, store cupboards, meat safes with
special coolers, gas stoves, sinks and china closets. The
kitchen and bathroom floors were similarly tiled.
There are paired brackets in the cornice at the roof
line and a dentil course above the first floor. The upper
two levels have oriel angled bays on all four corners and
on either side of the main entrance. Paired and single
windows, originally all double-hung sashes, have been
changed to modern single panes, with awning sashes in
each suite. The headers of the first and third floor windows
are part of the belt
course and the frieze,
respectively. There are
heavy lintels above the
windows of the second
floor between the bays.
The three upper floors
are clad in a pattern of
red and grey bricks.
The basement foundation is of rusticated and coursed
stone, with the original four-light casement windows. The
centrally-located recessed main entrance has a marble
stairway leading to the main floor. The ceiling and walls
are board-and-batten above white sanitary tile. The front
door has sidelights, with “October Mansion” in large gold
lettering on the transom above.
According to the plans, the basement
contained: cards/dining room, social hall,
dressing room, kitchen, toilet and children’s
room for residents’ entertainment; janitor’s
living quarters, which included living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and toilet; laundry
and drying room, trunk room, boiler room,
fuel storage room, fuel chute and meter room.
There were central stairs, an elevator and hall,
flanked by two large light wells. The final cost
of construction was over $39,000.
A 1910 photo of the building shows
both the Fort St and Cook St streetcar lines
and the cluster lights outside on Fort St. These
lights, installed in many parts of downtown, were recommended
to the city by Bert Todd, who had seen similar
ones in Dresden,
Germany.
George C.
Mesher (b. UK
1860-1938) arrived
in Victoria in 1886
just as a building
boom started.
He and his father
carried out many
important projects
over the following
years including the
rectory at Christ
Church Cathedral
and several Rockland
mansions.
They worked with
architects Samuel
Maclure and W. Ridgway-Wilson among others.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
October Mansion is so-called because Albert Edward
“Bert” Todd (b. Victoria 1878-1928) and Ada Beatrice Elvira
Seabrook became engaged in October 1909. Bert purchased
the land for $9,000 and commissioned the building as an
engagement present for Ada, so she would always have
independent income. Bert and Ada were married in March
1910 in Los Angeles, where Ada had moved with her family.
Their honeymoon was spent touring by car, which was
quite an adventure at the time, but insisted upon by Bert,
who loved cars and the travel opportunities they provided.
The couple first went south to Mexico, then north again,
taking the new Pacific coast road. When they returned to
Victoria, Bert and Ada moved into their new residence
at 721 Linden Av, Rockland, also designed and built for
them by George C. Mesher & Co. There the Todds raised
their two sons Joe and Dick.
October Mansion remained the property of Ada until
her death aged 77 in 1968, when it passed to Joe and Dick.
They continued to own it into the late 1980s, although
they both lived in the USA. Ownership eventually passed
to Ada’s grandchildren.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
This building seems to attract long-term tenants. One
woman lived there for her entire adult life and, so it is
said, almost never went out. The building has changed
very little in its exterior appearance over the years. Inside,
the original spiral staircase in the centre of the hall was
replaced with two staircases, for fire safety reasons. A
rental advertisement in 2013 lists original features including
hardwood floors, built-in buffet and a claw-foot tub in the
bathroom, indicating that the building is a heritage gem,
both inside and out.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:
• Map of Victoria Heritage Register Properties
• Harris Green History
• Harris Green Heritage Register
• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Three: Rockland, Burnside, Harris Green,
Hillside-Quadra,
North Park & Oaklands
