Heritage Register
Harris Green
1023-25 Fort Street
Built
1929-30
Heritage-Registered
For: William M. Carmichael; Herbert L. Johnson
Architects: Karl B. Spurgin & William J. Semeyn
Designer: Herbert L. Johnson
ARCHITECTURE:
1023 Fort St was built first, for Carmichael, followed
a few months later by 1025 for Johnson. The 1½-storey
plans were basically the same. This British Arts & Crafts
interpretation of Tudor store-fronts has traditional jettied
upper storeys, and extensive half-timbering with pegging
on roughcast stucco. The buildings are deliberately set at
different heights, with overlapping bargeboards and variations
in the front façades.
Built for $7,500, 1023 was constructed as a store on the
main level with a
one-storey silversmith’s
workshop
at the rear. It is a
two-storey structure;
the front-facing
gable originally had
a window in its peak
below shallow eaves
and decorative bargeboards.
Exposed
beam-ends across the
front cantilever the
second storey, which
has a bank of four
casements with diamond-
paned leaded lights. The main floor has a long angled
inset bay of diamond-paned, trefoil-arched clerestory windows
over the shop windows and doors. There is a recessed
porch and massive, decorated doorwat on the right. The photo
above shows that a door on the left used to exist.
The effect is echoed next door, where the street-level
windows are on a shallower, wide, angled bay, and the second-floor windows
in two bracketed,
octagonal oriel bays.
A top window still
survives beneath the
finial. This store, built
for $9,000, has two
large doorways, one
leading to upstairs
accommodation.
Workshops were again
provided at the rear of
the building. While the
woodwork on 1023
has an adzed finish, on
1025 it is planed and
lacks the exaggerated
wooden pegs. All three
entrance doors have
heavy wrought-iron
strap hinges.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
A small house on this property, dating back to at least
1874, was demolished in 1929 and the lot subdivided;
Herbert Lawrence Johnson (b. Oxford, ENG 1893-1964)
bought the eastern half and William Maurice Carmichael
(b. Esquimalt 1892-1954), the western half.
1929-54:
Carmichael, a silversmith, operated a factory and storefront
at 1023 Fort. By 1962 the shop had been moved to
Humboldt St. Carmichael trained as an engineer but after
serving overseas in WWI, couldn't get a job. He opened
a small shop in his parents’ Oak Bay home, and began
manufacturing sterling silver jewelry and other items.
He hired an assistant in 1924, then moved in 1929 to this
location, where he operated successfully for many years.
In 1935 Carmichael was commissioned to build a tribute
to King George V and Queen Mary’s silver jubilee. This
masterpiece oval bowl earned him his reputation as one
of BC’s top silversmiths. In 1980 the Royal BC Museum
held an exhibit showcasing Carmichael's work. His first
wife, Elizabeth Shallcross, died of tuberculosis in 1923 at
24. He married Victoria-born Ruth McBride in 1928.
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
1930-41: Johnson, a cabinetmaker, operated Johnson
Furniture Co at 1025 Fort St. He came to Canada in 1914,
and BC in 1919. He was a WWI veteran and a life member
of the Victoria Rowing Club.
1940: Ernest G. and Ethel V. Maynard rented the front
of 1025 for their jewellry and gift shops.
1942-47: Madge
Reid operated Reid's Antiques at 1025.
1948-50: Century
Arts Shop, antiques & china at 1025, Thomas & Bessie
Robinson and sons Harold G. & Robert C.
1951-52: Alice
Maud Robertson's (née Ferguson, b. Glasgow 1877-1957)
House of Tudor Antiques. Alice and her husband Frederick
(1876-1947) had previously run The Spode Shop on
Government St. From 1933-46 the Robertsons owned
Drummadoon in Saanich; their water tower still stands on
University of Victoria grounds.
1953-55: Sheraton House
Anitiques, proprietor Thorkil Juelsberg in 1025.
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
