Old Victoria Custom House, National historic site at Wharf Street, Victoria, Canada.
The Old Victoria Custom House is a customs facility in Victoria built in 1875 with three stories and a mansard roof following Second Empire design principles. It sits on Wharf Street overlooking the harbor with views across the water and stands alongside other historic structures in downtown Victoria.
The building was constructed in 1875 as part of establishing federal presence following Canadian Confederation and regulated port trade until 1899. Its creation marked the expansion of administrative control over western Canadian harbors.
The building served as a gathering place where prospectors stopped in 1898 to obtain mining licenses before heading to the Klondike goldfields. This daily flow of fortune-seekers made it a center of the Gold Rush activity in the region.
The building sits within walking distance of other attractions in Victoria's waterfront area and harbor district. Visitors should note that the location can become busy during peak seasons, making it worth exploring the surrounding neighborhood as part of a broader harbor tour.
The building is one of the few remaining examples of a nineteenth-century federal structure designed by Thomas Seaton Scott, Canada's first Chief Architect. This rare preservation makes it an important record of early Canadian architectural planning and government design choices.
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