The
BC Scene - Attractions, Museums and
Historic
Sites
How
to attract visitors to your area like a
magnet? Let us count the ways. Air
Highways and BC Scene Magazine combination
in print and online.
Background
information by Tourism BC:
Greater
Vancouver offers a multitude of
attractions, incuding the fact that you
can often ski and golf on the same day. On
any given day, the waterfront area where
we live, is a passing parade of ships
large and small.
The
sky is a flying circus; you can fly
direct from the harbour, next to Canada
Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre,
by float plane or Helijet to Victoria,
Seattle, Whistler - and a variety of fun
destinations in the mountains or along the
coast.
Parliament
Buildings, Victoria: The Parliament
Buildings, site of the provincial
government were constructed in 1897. From
the time the buildings were first opened,
the facade's outline was illuminated by
more than 3,300 small light bulbs fixed
along the corners of the walls, a feature
that has contributed to its landmark
status. In 1973, restoration work began
that would extend from the foundations to
the statue of George Vancouver on top of
the central dome.
Stained glass windows were repaired.
Moldings, light fixtures, and door knobs
were made to replicate the originals, and
mosaic tiles and ornate plaster work were
restored. After 10 years of work, the
buildings were restored to their earlier
magnificence. Guided tours of the
buildings are in groups and without
charge. Large groups must phone ahead.
Royal British Columbia Museum,
Victoria: Location: 675 Belleville
Street This museum is probably like few
others you have ever seen. `Walk through'
exhibits take you to the streets of a
pioneer town, to an old working Gold Rush
waterwheel, aboard Capt. Vancouver's ship
"Discovery", into a native Indian
longhouse, to the bottom of the ocean,
through a coastal rain forest or along a
seashore.
Exhibits focus on the natural and human
history of British Columbia. There are
lectures, films and special event days. In
the summer, native carvers are at work.
Outside, there is a garden of B.C.'s
native wildflowers. The museum was founded
in 1896. It was housed in the Parliament
Buildings across Government Street from
1898 to 1968 when it moved into its
present quarters, specifically designed
for museum activities.
The
museum has more than ten million artifacts
in its anthropological, biological and
historical collections, though only a
fraction are on public display.
Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria:
Location: 1050 Joan Crescent. Coal baron
Robert Dunsmuir must have truly felt a
man's home is his castle when he built
this lavish house in the 1880s. He died
before the castle was finished and his
widow Joan moved into Craigdarroch in
1890. She lived there until she died in
1908. Craigdarroch is now a museum
furnished in turn-of-the-century style:
many of the pieces are the originals. The
castle has been restored and features
magnificent stained glass windows,
intricately-carved oak paneling on the
walls and ceiling of the main hall,
walnut, mahogany, cedar and spruce
paneling in many of the rooms and complex
designs in the parquet floor throughout
the castle's 39 rooms, executed in exotic
wood.
Squares
and Old Town, Victoria: Location:
Bastion Square, Market Square, Chinatown,
Centennial Square. These squares and small
streets all have a history and atmosphere
that make a walk in downtown Victoria
pleasant and historically inspiring.
Bastion Square was originally the site of
Fort Victoria, established by James
Douglas in 1843. The Maritime Museum,
prominent on the square, the Courthouse
and several other buildings from the turn
of the century have been restored and
currently house shops and offices. Two
blocks over is Market Square, a pack house
and busy warehouse at the time gold was
discovered in B.C.'s interior. Now a
collection of interesting boutiques opens
onto a central courtyard, a unique mix of
old and new. Another block over is
Chinatown, once covering several city
blocks but now mainly Fisgard Street. Off
to the side is Fan Tan Alley, a narrow
passage with shops tucked away. On Fisgard
is the ornate Gate of Harmonious Interest.
Shops here offer merchandise and meals
straight from the Orient. A block away is
Centennial Square, a relative newcomer
where history nonetheless blooms in a
restored City Hall, vintage 1878, and an
old theatre restored as the McPherson
Playhouse.
B.C.
Forest Museum, Duncan: Location: On
the Trans-Canada Highway just north of
Duncan, about 70 km (43 miles) north of
Victoria on Vancouver Island. This museum
is not your traditional idea of a museum.
It is really a park, the natural setting
for a museum about forestry. The theme is
"Man in the Forest" and it covers every
facet of activity from native Indian times
right through to the present. The park
covers more than 40 hectares (100 acres)
with indoor and outdoor exhibits and
walking trails that detail the history of
forestry in British Columbia. An original
steam locomotive takes you from the
entrance to the main exhibits of logging
and milling equipment. The train even
takes you over an old wooden trestle
bridge.
 Barkerville:
Location: Central Interior of British
Columbia, about 450 air km (280 miles)
north of Vancouver and about 90 km (55
miles) east of Quesnel on Highway 26. From
the decaying remnants of a once-bustling
gold rush town, Barkerville has been
restored and is now a heritage park that
recreates those wild times in western
wilderness. Almost overnight, Barkerville
was on the way to becoming the biggest
community north of San Francisco and west
of Chicago. In the 1860s, when gold was
valued at $15 an ounce, over $50 million
worth was taken out of the area.
Barkerville died out when the gold rush
ended, though it was never a complete
ghost town.
Now,
buildings have been restored, stores are
occupied by merchants who show how things
were done in the late 1800s, and
demonstrations, tours and live musical
stage shows bring the gold-rush days back
to life. Of the 142 structures in
Barkerville's townsite, 52 predate 1900
and 54 are historic but post-1900. There
are 100 displays and more than 40,000
artifacts in the site's collection.
Barkerville has also been the set for
several western movies. Camping and hotel
accommodation are located close to the
site.
Fort
Steele: Location: About 550 air km
(340 miles) east of Vancouver, east of
Cranbrook on Highway 93/95. Fort Steele is
the other premier heritage park of British
Columbia, a re-creation of an East
Kootenay town in the late 1800s. Fort
Steele arose as a commercial, social and
administrative centre of the East
Kootenays when major silver and lead
discoveries were made in 1892. Its
fortunes turned when, in 1898, the BC.
Southern Railway bypassed it in favour of
Cranbrook. Now, Fort Steele has more than
60 restored and reconstructed homes and
buildings. Staff and volunteers put on
demonstrations that recall its heady days
a century ago. Living history at its
best.
'Ksan
Indian Village, Hazelton: Location: At
Hazelton, 725 air kilometres (451 miles)
north of Vancouver, 1,227 km (762 miles)
by road, or 439 km (275 miles) by road
west of Prince George. This is the site of
a reconstructed authentic Gitksan Indian
Village complete in every detail and
similar to one that stood on the same site
when the first European explorers came to
the Hazelton area. Tribal houses are
decorated with paintings, carved interior
poles, and screens painted in traditional
Northwest Coast Indian style. 'Ksan
dancers perform traditional Indian dances
and you can take a guided tour of several
historic sites in the area. This is one of
the few sites that really provides
insights into Indian life before the
advent of Europeans.
O'Keefe
Historic Ranch, near Vernon: Location:
Ten km (6 miles) north of Vernon, about
480 km (300 miles) east of Vancouver. The
O'Keefe Ranch recalls the early cowboy
days in the highland interior of British
Columbia. The interior of the O'Keefe
mansion is magnificent. Its original
antique furniture, considered the best of
Canadian craftsmanship at the time, is a
showpiece of the ranch. Cornelius O'Keefe
came from the east in the 1860s, started
with 60 hectares (150-acres) and built his
ranch to 8,094 hectares (20,000 acres).
His descendants lived in the house until
1977 before it was turned into a museum.
Now it comprises 20 hectares (50 acres).
The antiques here are valued at more than
$1 million. There are several buildings,
including a Chinese cooks' house, St.
Ann's Church, a carriage shed, a
blacksmith shop, a reconstructed general
store, a cowboy's bunk house and a barn,
all preserved true to turn-of-the-century
life.
BC
Natural Attractions
..home
OCTOBER
IS SALUTE TO BRITISH COLUMBIA
MONTH
Use
the two top bars for links to other
destinations and
events
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