Name/Title
Pembroke Street FoundryEntry/Object ID
2018.08.18Description
Painting
This image depicts in detail part of the side façade of a commercial brick building at 632 Pembroke Street. Built in 1911 and listed on the City of Victoria, B.C. Heritage Register, the building is located in the Rock Bay neighbourhood near Victoria's Old Town District.Artwork Details
Medium
Watercolour on paperSubject Place
Region
Pacific NorthwestContinent
North AmericaContext
632 Pembroke Street, Victoria BC (ex-630 Pembroke Street)
"Prominent in the 600-block of Pembroke St. is this simple 2-storey, narrow, flat-roofed brick commercial building with a central entrance and a window on each side. The upper storey has a simple decorative treatment creating a plain pilaster on each side and a triple row of corbelling across the upper portion. A pair of windows shares a continuous moulded cement sill. All openings have arched brick heads and cement sills. Most windows have 2-over-2 double-hung sashes. The building lacks a cornice. The front is unusual for its astonishingly wide entrance.
The building was erected for John R. Saunders (b. Plymouth, Eng 1871-1959) in 1911. The architect and builder are unknown but the cost of the building was $5000 and it may have been attached to a stable, built in 1909. Saunders, who came to Canada in 1892, was in real estate and insurance until he retired in 1942. It is not known whether he intended to use the building as an office.
It became a laundry in 1912, run by Sam Wo Lee who had another laundry at 720 Humboldt St. Lee stayed until the mid 1920s but the building was vacant from 1926 until 1929. After a few short-term occupants, cabinet maker John Rodd moved into the Saunders building c.1939 and remained here until the early 1960s.
The building was vacant again until Smith Bros Foundry & Machine Works purchased the property in 1966. The building was renumbered 632 at that time and Smith Bros are still the owners."
Extract from the Victoria Heritage Foundation. See Web Links below.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
James (Jim) DoddRole
PainterDate made
circa 1985Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in New Westminster, B.C., James (Jim) Dodd is a Canadian artist and teacher who has been drawing and painting most of his life, and his work is held in many private collections locally and internationally. He grew up in Quesnel moving to Victoria in 1968 to attend university. Dodd works in a variety of mediums including watercolour, acrylic, ink and mixed media both in his Victoria studio and in southwest France. He is also the principal at the Victoria-based James Dodd Architectural Graphics and Illustration, and is a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Signature, LabelLocation
Signed lower left: DODD
In file, printed card from verso frame:
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOUR BY JIM DODD
Pembrook Street Foundary [known as Pembroke Street Foundry]
$425.Dimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageHeight
45.7 cmWidth
29-3/16 in
