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Fairfield, Greater Victoria

Neighbourhoods in Victoria, British Columbia

Fairfield is a neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia. It is bounded by the James Bay, Downtown, Harris Green, Fernwood, Rockland, and Gonzales (Foul Bay) neighbourhoods, and meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the south.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Fairfield, Greater Victoria (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Fairfield, Greater Victoria
Hilda Street, Victoria Fairfield

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 48.4164 ° E -123.355361 °
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Address

Hilda Street 1101
V8V 3X5 Victoria, Fairfield
British Columbia, Canada
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St. Ann's Academy (Victoria, British Columbia)
St. Ann's Academy (Victoria, British Columbia)

St. Ann's Academy was built by the Roman Catholic Congregation of Women the Sisters of Saint Anne of Lachine, Quebec. The chapel, designed by Father Joseph Michaud, was built in 1858 as St. Andrew's Cathedral was moved in 1886 to be St. Ann's Chapel and is the oldest part of the Academy. Later a convent was added (1887) to the west side of the Academy and behind the Academy (1910). St. Ann’s Academy was a girls Catholic boarding and day school from grade 3-12, and boys K - 3, as well as serving as the Provincial House, convent and novitiate. The academy also served as a residential school for First Nations orphans and girls.The Sisters of St. Ann closed the Academy and in 1973 sold the property to the provincial government of British Columbia which used it as office space for the public service for a few years, but it was in need of major repairs and had to be closed. Years-long civic debate of diverse proposals for the future of the building and site ensued. Placed under the stewardship of the Provincial Capital Commission, the interior of the building was gutted and rebuilt, basement to attic, providing seismic upgrade and rehabilitation into modern office space. Once completed, the majority of the building was leased to the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, a use consistent with the Sisters' aims. The exterior facade of his heritage building was retained and repaired. The chapel, parlours and infirmary were retained as an interpretive centre and restored to their 1920s decor. The auditorium at the other end of the building was also seismically upgraded and restored and is used for public lectures and concerts. The building was re-opened in 1997. The chapel was deconsecrated when the Sisters sold the property. Since the restoration of the chapel and the adjacent Novitiate Garden, these have been used as a venue for weddings and other functions. An annex behind the main building which had been occupied by the Victoria Conservatory of Music was demolished on September 11, 2001 following the Conservatory's move to the former Metropolitan United Church buildings. The site was cleared and became green space, merging the Academy grounds with the adjacent Beacon Hill Park.

Beacon Hill Park
Beacon Hill Park

Beacon Hill Park is a 75 ha (200 acre) park located along the shore of Juan de Fuca Strait in Victoria, British Columbia. The park is popular both with tourists and locals, and contains a number of amenities including woodland and shoreline trails, two playgrounds, a waterpark, playing fields, a petting zoo, tennis courts, many ponds, and landscaped gardens. The traditional name of the hill is Meeacan (sometimes spelled Meegan) to the Songhees people, meaning "belly."The land was originally set aside as a protected area by Sir James Douglas, governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island in 1858. In 1882, the land was officially made a municipal park of the City of Victoria, and given its present name. The name is derived from a small hill overlooking the Strait, upon which once stood navigational beacons. The hill is culturally significant, having been a burial site for the First Nations Coast Salish people, who are the original inhabitants of the Greater Victoria region. It provides scenic vistas of the Strait and the Olympic Mountains of Washington. Although much of the park has been landscaped into gardens and playing fields, and populated with various structures, a great deal of the native flora has been preserved. Garry oak, arbutus, Douglas-fir, western redcedar, camas, trillium, snowberry, Oregon grape, and fawn lily still remain in the park. Raccoons, river otters, squirrels, and many types of birds are frequently to be seen. The ponds in the park are noted for their swans, turtles, ducks, Canada geese, and blue herons. The park is notable for a few human-made features, as well. Most prominent is the world's fourth-tallest totem pole, a 38.8-metre (127 ft) work carved by Kwakwaka'wakw craftsman Mungo Martin, and erected in 1956 and was when built, the world's tallest. The pebble bridge over the stream between Goodacre and Fountain Lake is a tribute to renowned BC artist Emily Carr, erected by her sister Alice Carr in 1945. In the middle of the park, the Cameron Bandshell, otherwise known as "The Stage", is the site of concerts from June through September. "Mile 0" of the Trans-Canada Highway is at the south-west corner of the park, along with the old Beacon Lodge and the famous Beacon Drive In.