Heritage Register
Oaklands
2667 Empire Avenue
Built
1913
Heritage-Designated 1985
For: Arthur & Violet Levy
Architects: William D'Oyly Rochfort & Eban W. Sankey
ARCHITECTURE:
This large, dramatically-sited California Mission
Revival-style house has a complex red-tiled roof and is
clad in roughcast stucco. The roofline consists of a series
of large and small stepped mission-style arched gables.
The offset main entrance
below a smaller gable leads
to a wrap-around verandah.
The shed roof of the verandah
is supported by huge
square paired piers. There are
several large three-part round
arched windows. On the roof
at the SW corner is a square
structure which became a
suite. Along the
street frontage is an old stone
retaining wall.
This house was assessed at $8,000 in 1914. The 1913
plumbing permit was signed by H.N. Palmatier as agent
for owner; he was likely working
for Rochfort & Sankey. Palmatier is
known to have signed as architect on
several Victoria houses (427 Arnold,
Fairfield).
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
1913-18: Arthur Levy (b. Seattle 1885-1961) married divorcée Amelia “Violet” Haggart (née Hilbert, b. Leeds, ENG 1880-1947) in Vancouver in 1907. His father Henry Emanuel “H.E.” Levy (b. Wellington, NZ, 1843-1929) came here in 1859 and established Levy’s Arcade Oyster Saloon at 1316-18 Government St (Downtown) in 1865 (it “never closed”). Leaving his brother Joseph “Joe” in charge, H.E. moved to Seattle where he married socialite Eva Rostein (b. New York, NY 1882-1946) in 1882. They moved back to Victoria in 1889. H.E. brought Arthur into the business and passed Levy’s Restaurant onto him in 1907. Arthur sold it in 1912, then ran the Poodle Dog Cafe on Yates St until 1941. He and Violet lived with his parents and later his widowed mother at 1022 Pemberton Rd before and after living at 2667 Empire St. (Eva’s sister Ida Rostein married Dr. Siegfried Moritz “Max” Hartman, DD (1009 Cook St, Fairfield) in Victoria in 1888.)
OTHER OCCUPANTS:
1919-75: James McFarland Wood (b. Tamworth, ON
1887-1974) and Marguerita Helena “Rita” (née Cameron,
b. Victoria 1892-1975) married in 1908. Jim came to Victoria
that year and opened Wood’s Garage on Government
St near Superior with the first Ford dealership. He then
established a plant in Clinton, ON, to extend the frame
of the Ford Model T and install a chain drive, creating
the first half-ton truck. He sold them until c.1916 when
Henry Ford began selling half-ton trucks. By 1911, Jim
was proprietor of Wood Motor Co on Broughton St, then
became manager of Begg Motor Co, which sold Cadillacs.
He once delivered one to Cumberland, travelling two days
and carrying enough fuel to make the journey, as there
were no gas stations. In 1946, Jim opened his dealership at
Cook and Yates, selling Dodge and Plymouth. He retired
in the mid-1950s and he and Rita travelled the globe. An
avid golfer, Jim was a member of the Uplands, Royal
Colwood and Victoria Golf Clubs. He and Rita lived here
until their deaths.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:
• Map of Victoria Heritage Register Properties
• Oaklands History
• Oaklands Heritage Register
• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Three: Rockland, Burnside, Harris Green,
Hillside-Quadra,
North Park & Oaklands
