Most tourism sites for the City of Victoria, BC list the same things; good restaurants, nice hotels, fun activities and beautiful sites to see. When deciding if Victoria was really the right place for me there was something I noticed that immediately stole my heart. You might notice that these sites have a tendency to boast about Victoria’s abundance of heritage architecture. Rightly so. In my opinion.
Not long after moving here I noticed that Victoria, in fact, does have a lot of heritage architecture. Living in the downtown area I see lots of old architecture, but I have also seen something that’s not always common in other cities. In downtown Victoria there are two buildings in particular that have caught my attention. These buildings are old heritage buildings that are being rebuilt on the inside while the old exterior of the building is being maintained the way it is.
The preservation and construction of these buildings is funded by the Victoria Civic Heritage Trust which was established in 1989. This organization was established with a mission of promoting heritage preservation. They do this by sharing some of the cost of restoring the building through grant programs. There is another organization that funds the preservation of heritage houses through the same system. This organization is the Victoria Heritage Foundation.
Since land development has such detrimental effects on the environment this is possibly one of the best solutions, given that the buildings are available and suitable for the project in mind. In a sense it’s like these buildings are being recycled. Preserving them not only maintains their beauty, but saves yet another block of land from being developed on. Less building materials are needed as well which prevents the need for more consumption. This is one act of sustainability that I have noticed within my community. It is not often noticed, but these companies should be praised for their efforts to sustain what already exists.
For more information on the two organizations named above please see www.heritagevictoria.org
Heritage Organizations. (n.d.). Victoria civic heritage trust and Victoria heritage foundation. Retrieved January 13, 2008 from www.heritagevictoria.org
Not long after moving here I noticed that Victoria, in fact, does have a lot of heritage architecture. Living in the downtown area I see lots of old architecture, but I have also seen something that’s not always common in other cities. In downtown Victoria there are two buildings in particular that have caught my attention. These buildings are old heritage buildings that are being rebuilt on the inside while the old exterior of the building is being maintained the way it is.
The preservation and construction of these buildings is funded by the Victoria Civic Heritage Trust which was established in 1989. This organization was established with a mission of promoting heritage preservation. They do this by sharing some of the cost of restoring the building through grant programs. There is another organization that funds the preservation of heritage houses through the same system. This organization is the Victoria Heritage Foundation.
Since land development has such detrimental effects on the environment this is possibly one of the best solutions, given that the buildings are available and suitable for the project in mind. In a sense it’s like these buildings are being recycled. Preserving them not only maintains their beauty, but saves yet another block of land from being developed on. Less building materials are needed as well which prevents the need for more consumption. This is one act of sustainability that I have noticed within my community. It is not often noticed, but these companies should be praised for their efforts to sustain what already exists.
For more information on the two organizations named above please see www.heritagevictoria.org
Heritage Organizations. (n.d.). Victoria civic heritage trust and Victoria heritage foundation. Retrieved January 13, 2008 from www.heritagevictoria.org
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