The Original Union Club in Victoria [First venue, 907 Government Street at Yates, Victoria, B.C., ca. 1880]

Photograph

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The Union Club of British Columbia

The Original Union Club in Victoria [First venue, 907 Government Street at Yates, Victoria, B.C., ca. 1880], n.d. Reproduction photograph from ca. 1880 hand-tinted black and white photograph by unknown photographer: Royal B.C. Museum and Archives (B-01648)
The Original Union Club in Victoria [First venue, 907 Government Street at Yates, Victoria, B.C., ca. 1880], n.d. Reproduction photograph from ca. 1880 hand-tinted black and white photograph by unknown photographer

Royal B.C. Museum and Archives (B-01648)

Name/Title

The Original Union Club in Victoria [First venue, 907 Government Street at Yates, Victoria, B.C., ca. 1880]

Entry/Object ID

2023.04.05.a

Description

Photograph Reproduction photograph (undated) from ca.1880 hand-tinted black and white photograph by unknown photographer. This is a view of the Cameron Building, 907 Government Street at Yates where the Union Club first met. Founded in 1879, The Union Club of British Columbia is a landmark institution in the heart of downtown Victoria., B.C., considered the foremost business, social and cultural club in the city.

Photograph Details

Type of Photograph

Reproduction, black and white photo on paper

Subject Place

Region

Pacific Northwest

Continent

North America

Context

This photograph shows the Cameron building, the second floor of which was the Club's first venue used from 1879 to 1885. The premises were reportedly simply furnished including a large room for billiards, a smaller reading room and card room. Initially, no meals were served, but a full service of breakfast, lunch and dinner was initiated in 1882. This venue was located above Van Volkenbrugh & Co., wholesale and retail butchers and later stock ranchers, operated by two brothers, Benjamin and Isaac - "Purveyors to His Excellency the [Governor General] Marquis of Lorne and Royal Highness Princess Louise." This may refer in part to the dinner hosted by the Union Club for the Governor General held at the Philharmonic Hall on November 1, 1882. See Susan Mayse, "The Union Club of British Columbia - Our First 125 Years" (Victoria, B.C.: The Union Club of British Columbia, 2004), and Paul L. Bissley, "Early and Late Victorians: A History of the Union Club of British Columbia" (Sidney, B.C.: Review Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd., 1969). Both publications are available in the UCBC Library.

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Unknown

Role

Photographer

Artist

Royal B.C. Museum and Archives

Role

Printmaker

Date made

n.d.

Time Period

19th Century

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Support

Height

12.7 cm

Width

20.3 cm

Acquisition

Acquisition Method

Unknown

Notes

Item B-01648, Courtesy Royal B.C. Museum and Archives

Relationships

Related Entries

Notes

2001.01.54 Union Club of B.C., Second Clubhouse with Expansion, 912 Douglas St., Victoria, B.C., ca. 1899 2001.01.55 Union Club of B.C., Third Clubhouse, 805 Gordon St., Victoria, B.C., ca. 1914 2023.04.11 Designation of Union Club of B.C. as National Historic Site of Canada 2023.04.05.a The Original Union Club in Victoria [First venue, 907 Government Street at Yates, Victoria, B.C., ca. 1880] 2023.04.05.b The Original Union Club in Victoria [First venue, 907 Government Street at Yates, Victoria, B.C.], ca. 1975

Web Links and URLs

Union Club of British Columbia, Royal B.C. Museum and Archives