Sunday Church Feature
St. Andrew's Presbyterian
Victoria, B.C.

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is located in downtown Victoria B.C. at the corner of Douglas and Broughton Streets, not far from the Inner Harbour. It is the oldest continuing Presbyterian Church (1889) and congregation (1866) in Victoria. "The architect was Leonard Buttress Trimen. The architecture is said to be of Castellated Scottish Baronial style. With its stepped gables, massive tower and sturdy doors (See photo below.) it is easy to agree with the castellated designation ." (See Link 2.) 

Front doors

 "The first organ installed for the Congregation of St. Andrew’s dates back to 1879, and that organ was installed by the S. R. Warren and Son organ builders from Toronto, Ontario. That organ had to be shipped to Victoria by sea around the Cape Horn and was reported to be the finest and largest in the Province at that time. From its earliest home to the present, the organ has undergone a number of revisions, rebuilds and upgrades. Those revisions and upgrades saw the transformation of the original organ, wind powered by a water-engine and with a disposition of 21 stops to its current version of 72 speaking stops of which 37 are pipes and the remainder digital, all available through a beautiful Rogers Organ console installed in 2001.

"The organ contains 2190 pipes, and the latest rank installed was the Trumpet 8′ built by Casavant Organ builders in Quebec, Canada. The pipe work still uses 3 ranks from the original Warren organ and was built by the Walker organ company in 1872.

                                                         Altar and pipe organ

"St Andrew’s was fortunate to be able to obtain a number of ranks of pipes from Christ Church Cathedral as the Cathedral replaced their organ with a new tracker instrument. Those ranks were from the English organ builder Hill Norman and Baird and added greatly to the current ensemble.

"The organ is cared for and maintained by Grant Smalley. The current organist and music director at St. Andrew’s is Douglas Hodgkinson." (See Link 1.)

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church sits at 680 Courtenay Street in the heart of downtown Victoria, B.C.  It is an easy walk from the B.C. Parliament Buildings, The Empress Hotel, and the B.C. Provincial Museum.

Photo: Top photo of church and of church doors taken in 2004 by SW. 

              Photo of altar and pipe organ from Link.

Link 1: http://standrewsvictoria.ca/
Link 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zedzap/4291592520/

Saturday Travel Feature

B.C. Parliament Buildings

Victoria, B.C.

"The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and serve as the seat of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia...

"The Neo-baroque buildings face north on Belleville street facing the Inner Harbour and diagonally across from The Empress Hotel. A large statue of Queen Victoria stands on the front lawn as well a statue of a soldier to commemorate the province's World War I, World War II and Korean War dead. Atop the central dome is a gold-covered statue of Captain George Vancouver. Free guided tours of the facility are offered year- round...

"From 1856 to 1860 the Legislature of the Colony of Vancouver Island sat at Bachelor's Hall at Fort Victoria.^[1] From 1860 to 1898 it was housed in the first permanent building at Legislative Hall or Birdcages (burned down 1957)...^2]

"The main block of the Parliament Buildings combines Baroque details with Romanesque Revival rustiction. 

Construction of a nw Parliament Building was first authorized by an act of the provincial legilature in 1893, the Parliament Buildings Construction Act.
"...the original budget was $500,000 the final amount was $923,000—the British Columbia Parliament Buildings were officially opened in 1898^[4]. The grand scale of its 500-ft (152-m) long andesite façade^[5], central dome and two end pavilions, the richness of its white marble, and combination of Baroque rigorous symmetry, use of domes and sculptural massing with the rusticated surfaces of the currently popular Romanesque Revival style contributed to its being an innovative and impressive monument for the young province. Its success garnered Rattenbury many more commissions in Victoria and other parts of the province, including the Legislative Library 1913-1915, the design of The Empress Hotel, the Crystal Gardens indoor swimming pool nearby, and the Vancouver Court House (now the Vancouver Art Gallery). The andesite of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings is from Haddington Island in the Alert Bay Volcanic Belt.^[6] The granite used to build the buildings came from Nelson Island, at the mouth of Jervis Inlet, on the Sunshine Coast." (See Link 1.)

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Window

in the B.C. Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.

The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was the international celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries, upon the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952, and was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as monarch and an opportunity for her to officially and personally thank her people for their loyalty. (See Link 3.)

"The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (French: Médaille du jubilé de la Reine Elizabeth II) was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II. The medal was physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada, where it contained unique elements; as an internationally distributed award, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal holds a different place in each country's order of precedence for honours.

"The medal was administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall and was awarded to Canadians who made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community or to Canada over the previous fifty years.^[2] Various organizations were invited to propose the names of candidates for the medal; this included all levels of Canadian government, educational and cultural organizations, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, veterans' groups, sports associations, and philanthropic and charitable bodies.^{[1]"  (See Link  2.)}

Note: Suzanne Wilson received a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for her Year 2000 Project, Your House/Our Home, donated to and on view at the North Vancouver Museum and Archives. 

Demolished: First Legislative Hall burned down in 1957.Photos: Taken in 2003 by SW.

Link 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Parliament_Buildings

Link 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_II_Golden_Jubilee_Medal

Link 3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Jubilee_of_Elizabeth_II