Former Victoria Law Courts National Historic Site of Canada

The Former Victoria Law Courts was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1980 because:

• it is representative of the judicial institution in British Columbia;
• this first major public building constructed by the provincial government after union with Canada marked an important stage in the evolution of British Columbia’s court system and the start of a programme to erect permanent court houses in judicial districts throughout the province;
• its unique design used a composite of various stylistic elements and was determined by the utilitarian priorities of the court house function.

Completed in 1889, the Former Victoria Law Courts marked an important stage in the evolution of British Columbia’s court system. It was the first major public building built in British Columbia after Confederation, and its construction ushered in a concerted phase of courthouse construction throughout the entire province. Over the next seven years, it was followed by a succession of brick or stone court buildings in Vancouver, New Westminster, Vernon, and Nanaimo. However, the building remained unique in its electic architectural style, composed of various stylistic elements, resulting from the architect Herman Otto Tiedeman’s intentions to provide a functional building where utilitarian considerations of the building took precedence over aesthetics.