Rogers Building National Historic Site of Canada
Victoria, British Columbia
General view
© Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, Andrew Waldron, 2011.
Address :
913 Government Street, Victoria, British Columbia
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1991-03-01
Dates:
-
1903 to 1903
(Construction)
Event, Person, Organization:
-
Hooper and Watkins
(Architect)
Other Name(s):
-
Rogers Building
(Designation Name)
-
Rogers' Chocolate Shop
(Other Name)
-
Rogers' Chocolates Building
(Other Name)
Research Report Number:
QUEEN ANNE REVIVAL
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 913 Government Street, Victoria, British Columbia
This shop is a delectable adaptation of the Queen Anne Revival style to small commercial buildings. English in origin, the style was well-loved in Canada for its eclectic and picturesque composition. This 1903 facade combines classical details with the bay window that characterized commercial buildings of the style. These features harmonize well with the generous panes of glass, so suitable for well-lit interiors and for generous display space for merchandise. Architects Hooper and Watkins have captured the spirit of the style with this distinctive shopfront and its handsome interior.
Description of Historic Place
The Rogers Building is a small Victorian era commercial building with a fanciful Queen Anne Revival-style shopfront. It is located in the downtown area of the city of Victoria. The formal recognition consists of the building on its legal property.
Heritage Value
The Rogers Building was designated a national historic site in 1991 because this shop is a delectable adaptation of the Queen Anne Revival style applied to small commercial buildings.
The facade of the Rogers Building typifies commercial applications of the Queen Anne Revival Style. Original fixtures and decorative features in the store’s interior create a warm, inviting atmosphere typical of the style.
Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, November 1990.
Character-Defining Elements
Aspects of this site which contribute to its heritage values include: its Queen Anne Revival style design, including classically inspired detailing, plate-glass display windows at street level, a prominent bay window on the second floor, and red-brick piers and pilasters decorated with white trim; the decorative shopfront including ornate glazing with a delicate canopy of leaded lights over the recessed entrance way, small superimposed leaded windows across the back of the display windows, the marble and tile finishes of the entrance way; The scale and two-storey massing in relation to the two buildings immediately to its south; original surviving interior fixtures and decorative detailing, including glass-fronted cabinets, curve-topped glass counters, tall wall mirrors, the ornate broken pediment above the mirrors, and the turned wooden spindle design below the mirrors.