952 Johnson Street

ARCHITECTURE:

McCall’s Funeral Home Floral Chapel, a one-storey, West Coast Modern style building of concrete block and exposed glulam roof beams. There is rich, dynamic movement between its various elements. The front of the Floral Chapel has angled walls and clerestories between and above projecting angled walls. The sloped roof assembly of the chapel with its deep eaves incorporates a two-way pitch that, when viewed from the interior, guides the eye to the frontal service area. The exposed timber structure merges design and function into singular elements requiring a high degree of material quality and finish. The glazing within the angular concrete block wall assemblies directs abundant natural light in the interior space creating an important, purposeful illumination. On the R side, vertical, narrow windows separate the short, staggered, smooth concrete-block walls. The upper walls, the front wall and piers of the Floral Chapel are of smooth stucco.

Quadra St which runs through Harris Green neighbourhood is home to a number of churches, including the landmark Metropolitan United Church at Pandora Av and Quadra St, North Park’s ‘Church Row” (TOH3) north on Quadra St, and Christ Church Cathedral south in Fairfield neighbourhood (TOH4). This proximity to the downtown and many churches made this a convenient central location for a funeral home. McCall’s Funeral Home has additional historical value as one of the key commissions undertaken by architect John Di Castri (1924-2005), who played a seminal role in establishing modern architecture in Victoria during the postwar years (see 1595 St. Francis Wood, Rockland TOH3). A 1961 addition which took the place of the original C.F. Todd house at 952 Johnson St significantly extended the footprint of the chapel while seamlessly adding administration space to it. However, the 1961 wing was demolished in March 2020 and the historic place is limited to the 1959 Floral Chapel.

* With info from City of Victoria’s Statements of Significance by Donald Luxton & Assoc. & by John Dam & Assoc.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

McCall Gardens was founded in 1921 as McCall Bros. Funeral Directors Ltd. David Moore McCall (b. Huron Co, ON 1881-1955) (1342 Pandora Av, Fernwood TOH1) and James Milton McCall (b. Huron Co, ON, 1878-1955) purchased 952 Johnson, the 1884 residence built for Victoria pioneers, Charles and Louisa Todd (1041 St. Charles St, Rockland TOH3) and converted it into a funeral home.

In 1959, David’s sons Torrey Alexander McCall (b. Victoria 1924-2013) and Graham Esler McCall (b. Calgary, AB 1919-1980) hired John Di Castri to design the Floral Chapel, and then the western portion in 1961. David A. McCall, third generation and son of Graham McCall, became President and owner of the company in 1977. In 1986, he purchased property on Falaise Dr, next to Royal Oak Burial Park in Saanich, and in 1998, built a small funeral home on the property, naming it Sequoia Gardens. In 2014, David and son Trevor decided to sell the Vancouver/Johnson St property and build a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility on the Falaise Dr property, which opened in 2016. Trevor McCall, President, and Craig McCall Williams, Manager of Advanced Planning, represent the fourth generation of the McCall family.