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Hallmark Society
#18 Centennial Square
Victoria, BC V8W 1P7
Phone/fax: (250) 382-4755
office@hallmarksociety.ca
Tours
Each year, members and guests are invited to at least one tour. In past years, we have visited downtown churches, a suburban farm, HMC Dockyard, and a rare untouched Central Saanich property. During Heritage Week, we offer Members' Night with a special speaker who echoes the national theme. See our meetings page for details of this year's event. Suggestions for future events are always welcome.
Bicycle Tour - August 22, 2010
If there's one thing nicer on a summer day than a bike ride, it's a "heritage bicycle tour" with helpful guides along the way.
The
Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition and the Hallmark Society --the
city's heritage group-- are co-sponsoring a 15-km ride on Sunday August
22.
Anyone wishing to participate can meet outside the
Hallmark Office on Centennial Square, across from Victoria City Hall,
at 10:00 a.m. The riders will then flow out to James Bay for their
first stop, 642 Battery St., where Councillor Pam Madoff --well
known for her heritage activism in Victoria-- will talk briefly about
her own charming 1893 house.
Next stop is a 1907 mansion
just round the corner, at 228 Douglas. Then it's across Beacon Hill
Park to 97 Cook St., an unusual Craftsman-style bungalow, followed by
the amazing cluster of 1890s homes on Memorial Crescent. The riders
will then be able to tour inside the Ross Bay Villa, before breaking
for a picnic lunch, probably on the beach.
Refreshed, the
riding group will hit the slopes: up the Rockland escarpment to
Illahie, perhaps the most celebrated house designed by Victoria's
premier residential architect, Samuel Maclure. Next stop is next door:
Regents Park --now the Amethyst Inn, at Fort & St. Charles.
The
tour then moves down to the lovely towered home at 1702 Fernwood, and
ends with the dramatic 1890s streetscape of Yukon Street, before
returning to the starting point, about 2 p.m.
At each of the
nine stops, knowledgeable speakers will briefly describe the history
and architecture of the houses the participants are looking at.
Riders
are reminded to tune their bikes for the tour, and to bring helmets,
all-weather clothes, water, and a picnic. Though the ride is free,
participants are invited to make a donation to the Greater Victoria
Cycling Coalition. The tour starts promptly at 10 a.m.