Victoria West and the harbor from the downtown

Victoria West, commonly called Vic West, is an historic neighbourhood of the city of

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, located just west of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

across Victoria Harbour, bordering on the Township of Esquimalt. When the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

arrived in Victoria in 1842 to establish Fort Victoria, the neighbourhood now known as Victoria West was the site of a village of the Songhees, the aboriginal people of the Victoria area. The Songhees called the Gorge waterway ''Camossung'', named for a girl who turned to stone at the Gorge tidal rapids. Songhees longhouses once extended from Songhees Point to beyond the present day

Johnson Street Bridge Four known bridges have spanned the narrows between the Inner Harbour and Upper Harbour of Victoria, British Columbia, connecting Johnson Street on the east shore with Esquimalt Road on the west shore. The current bridge is Canada's largest sin ...

. In 1911, the Songhees people relocated to the New Songhees Reserve in

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esqui ...

to permit industrial development in Victoria West, following protracted negotiations with the band. Compensation included $10,000 per household (approximately $230,000 in 2021 Canadian dollars), which, in contrast to the usual practice, was paid directly to households rather than being held in trust by the Department of Indian Affairs. Much of the residential and early commercial development of Victoria West occurred in the 1890s up until 1913. Residential development was facilitated by the arrival of streetcar service in 1890. While a few expensive homes were located in the neighbourhood, particularly in the area of the Gorge waterway, much of the development in the area was for working-class families. The Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway line passes through Victoria West, and the roundhouse was located in the neighbourhood. In addition, at one time there were as many as seven shipbuilding companies in the area. The largest and grandest of the homes built along the Vic West shore of the Gorge was ''Burleith'', the residence built in 1892 by

James Dunsmuir James Dunsmuir (July 8, 1851 – June 6, 1920) was a Canadian industrialist and politician in British Columbia. He served as the 14th premier of British Columbia from 1900 to 1902 and the eighth lieutenant governor of British Columbia from ...

, son of Robert Dunsmuir and set among of lawns and gardens. While ''Burleith'' has been demolished, ''Roslyn'', another smaller grand home remains on Catherine Street. Built in 1890 in the Queen Anne style for Andrew Gray, manager of the Albion Iron Works, Roslyn made an appearance in the movies when actor

Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has often played supporting villainous characters of unstable natures. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver ...

leapt from an upstairs balcony. In 1924 the

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

was constructed linking Downtown Victoria with Vic West. A second bridge, the Bay Street Bridge, stands where the Point Ellice Bridge was located. On May 26, 1896 an overloaded streetcar of holidaymakers celebrating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee caused the Point Ellice Bridge to collapse, killing 55 people. The Point Ellice Bridge Disaster is the worst transit accident in Canadian history. As industry left the area in the latter part of the 20th century, an opportunity for redevelopment of the former Songhees lands presented itself, and from the late 1980s condominium development along the harbour facing Downtown Victoria has resulted in an influx of population and spurred redevelopment of other parts of Victoria West, a process that continues with developments such as Dockside Green, the Railyards project and Bayview Place. Amenities in the area include the Victoria West Community Centre, churches and other services. In 1984 Spinnaker's

brewpub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis ...

opened on Kimta Road off Esquimalt Road. The Westsong Way, a pedestrian walkway, winds along the shore around Songhees Point, offering views of Downtown Victoria and

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost p ...

across the harbour. Parks and open space also include Victoria West Park, Banfield Park, Barnard Park, and Raynor Park. The area is served by Victoria West (Vic West) Elementary School.

References

{{coord, 48.4335, N, 123.387, W, display=title Neighbourhoods in Victoria, British Columbia