The wooden shutters, heavy curtains with floral patterns, the old writing desk that looked as if it could have been thrown out from Chuck Dickens's college dorm room. The writing room was small and tidy, cozy and quiet. I pictured myself sitting at the desk, leaning over a yellowed piece of parchment scribbling away with quill and ink, writing blog posts for a future time when the technology supported such endeavors.
The walking tour through the house gives glimpses of many past lives. A time of long dresses and starched collars. A time when letters and books and sitting down for tea and biscuits and discussing other people's business like it was one's job was the norm. The steps are thickly carpeted. The rooms are dark and smell like wet newspaper. Outside is Victoria, capital of British Columbia. It's fall and the trees along the nearby streets are turning yellow and orange. It's very pleasant here. It feels safe. And lonely.
There's something about Victoria that feels like time here stopped somewhere around 1952. The architecture, the demeanor of the people, the general feel of the small, quiet Canadian town all feel like a throwback to a less aggressive time. The best way for something to stand out here is to hearken back to even a more distant past.
The
Craigdarroch Castle reminded me of walking through the house of an ancient grandmother who spends most of her time attending Gospel Revivals. The house is large, quiet, meticulously decorated. It's a Victorian-era Scottish Baronial mansion in the suburban Rockland neighborhood. It has 39 rooms spread over more than 25,000 square feet. It was constructed in the late 1800s as a family residence for the wealthy coal baron Robert Dunsmuir and his wife Joan, but Robert died in April 1889, more than a year before construction was completed. The structure includes granite from British Columbia, tile from San Francisco, and an oak staircase built in Chicago.
The rooms inside are set up in period decor to give the illusion of how life went on in the early 1900s for the fortunate individuals dwelling in such splendor. Artwork on the walls are beautiful and the craftsmanship and woodwork of the interior is second-to-none.
The exterior is gray stone with a Gothic cathedral look that reminds one of old Hammer Films. There are stained glass windows, porch columns, arches, chimneys, spires, and dark shadows. It's not a castle in the traditional European sense. It's the size of a very large house that's more castle-esque, but the construction is ambitious and timeless. Too bad the same thing can't quite be said about the rest of Victoria.
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| One of the better wall decorations |
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| Decorations from Asian exploration |
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| View of downtown Victoria from a high balcony |
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| Stained glass window from the Castle |
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| An old fashioned sewing machine |
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| One of several writing desks |
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| Another cozy writing desk |
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| A very high window balcony |
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| Come back an visit soon. |
The wooden shutters, heavy curtains with floral patterns, the old writing desk that looked as if it could have been thrown out from Chuck Dickens's college dorm room. The writing room was small and tidy, cozy and quiet. I pictured myself sitting at the desk, leaning over a yellowed piece of parchment scribbling away with quill and ink, writing blog posts for a future time when the technology supported such endeavors. 
The walking tour through the house gives glimpses of many past lives. A time of long dresses and starched collars. A time when letters and books and sitting down for tea and biscuits and discussing other people's business like it was one's job was the norm. The steps are thickly carpeted. The rooms are dark and smell like wet newspaper. Outside is Victoria, capital of British Columbia. It's fall and the trees along the nearby streets are turning yellow and orange. It's very pleasant here. It feels safe. And lonely.
There's something about Victoria that feels like time here stopped somewhere around 1952. The architecture, the demeanor of the people, the general feel of the small, quiet Canadian town all feel like a throwback to a less aggressive time. The best way for something to stand out here is to hearken back to even a more distant past.
The rooms inside are set up in period decor to give the illusion of how life went on in the early 1900s for the fortunate individuals dwelling in such splendor. Artwork on the walls are beautiful and the craftsmanship and woodwork of the interior is second-to-none.
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