Malahat Building / Old Victoria Custom House National Historic Site of Canada

The Malahat Building/Old Victoria Custom House was designated a national historic site in 1987 because: it is closely associated with Victoria when the city was the pre-eminent commercial centre on Canada's Pacific Coast; and it is a rare surviving example of a 19th-century Second Empire style federal building.

As the customs house for Victoria from 1875 to 1899, the Malahat Building served the city's import and export trade during a time when Victoria was the busiest centre on the West coast. Mining licenses for the Klondike gold rush were administered here.

The Malahat Building is one of the few surviving examples of the federal buildings erected across Canada by the newly formed government following Confederation. By erecting a series of imposing buildings to provide necessary government services, especially post offices and custom offices, the Dominion government sought to establish a federal presence across the country. Built in 1874-75, the Malahat Building is a relatively plain example of the imposing Second Empire style adopted for these buildings under Thomas Seaton Scott, first Chief Architect of the Department of Public Works (1872-1881). Its modest design and materials are in keeping with the relative size of Victoria at that time.