254 Belleville Street

ARCHITECTURE:

The two-storey brick Stores building is significant as one of the few remaining early 20th century industrial buildings on Victoria’s Inner Harbour. It forms an important association with Victoria’s role as an early tourist mecca through its supporting role with the CPR’s steamship service. The character of Victoria’s Inner Harbour is still largely defined by its historic buildings: the BC Legislature, the Empress Hotel, the former CP Steamship Terminal, Old Town to the north, and James Bay residences to the south. Archival photographs of the Inner Harbour from the early 1900s reveal a large number of simple gable-roofed wooden industrial structures built on piles over the water to service the large number of passenger ships coming to Victoria. The majority of these structures no longer exist.

The building’s industrial style was typical of the period – two storeys of plain brick walls with a simple gable roof form, metal roof, and wood double hung windows in shallow segmental-arched openings. These plus industrial doors on the north side and a corbelled chimney are the main character defining elements. Removal of the exterior stucco, white paint and wood trim would restore the building’s original simple industrial character.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

John Raymond was a leading industrialist in Victoria in the early 20th century. He arrived here in 1886 from Guernsey in the Channel Islands via London, ON, and began manufacturing lime and building supplies. Eventually he had lime works at Shawnigan Lake and Esquimalt. In 1911 he retired and sold his business to Evans, Coleman and Evans of Vancouver, but kept Raymond Wharf on Belleville St. The Raymond family lived from 1899 to 1925 across the street, at 60, later 419 Belleville.

The Stores building was built on Raymond Wharf in 1912. The CPR leased it for many years to store linen for the CPR ships that docked nearby. In 1930, five years after John’s death at 82, son Percy sold the wharf to the CPR.

John Raymond also built the designated building at 613 Pandora Av in 1905 to house J. Raymond and Sons’ Rosebank Lime Co warehouse and building materials store.

With thanks to Steve Barber, City of Victoria Heritage Planner