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Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, n.d.
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| Title | Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, n.d. |
| Photographer | Unknown |
| Date | n.d. |
| Notes | On verso of image: Dunsmuir Castle, Victoria, B.C.
Filed in British Columbia--Victoria |
| Contextual Notes | Craigdarroch Castle, a historic Victorian-era mansion, was built in the 1890s by coal baron Robert Dunsmuir, the richest man in nineteenth century British Columbia. Rising 87 stairs up through the 4 1/2 stories, the Castle was designed by Portland architect Warren H. Williams, who died only four months after construction began on the Castle. Built in the Romanesque/Chateauesque style popular among the very rich as an architectural style suitable to one's fortune, it was successfully completed by his associate, Arthur L. Smith in 1890.
Furnished lavishly in the 1890s–1900s period, the 39 rooms occupy over 20,000 square feet. The Entrance Hall and Dining Room are panelled with rich golden oak imported from Chicago. The Drawing Room features hand-painted and stencilled ceiling decoration with lions' heads, garlands, birds and bouquets. Its windows represent the largest and finest in-situ collection of residential stained glass in Canada. And the Castle's tower provides a panoramic view of Victoria and beyond.
A penniless arrival in the province was soon overcome when Dunsmuir made a fortune from Nanaimo coal. He and his son James built the Nanaimo and Esquimault Railway to export the coal, receiving a huge land grant amounting to about a quarter of the area of Victoria in the process. Ownership of an iron foundry, a fleet of merchant ships, and a newspaper followed, as did James's appointment as provincial lieutenant governor.
Dunsmuir, the patriarch, died in April 1889, more than a year before the Castle was completed. After his death, his sons, James and Alexander, assumed the melancholy task of finishing the Castle for their widowed mother. Later they sued their mother for her share of their father's estate. Ten months after her death in 1908, Craigdarroch was sold and the contents were auctioned off.
For sixty years, the Castle housed various public institutions, including a WWI Military Hospital, Victoria College for twenty-five years and school board offices. The Castle is currently open to the public for tours. |
| Subjects (LCTGM) | Houses--British Columbia--Victoria; Dwellings--British Columbia--Victoria |
| Subjects (LCSH) | Craigdarroch Castle (Victoria, B.C.); Mansions--British Columbia--Victoria; Dunsmuir, Robert, 1825-1889--Homes and haunts; Victoria (B.C.)--Buildings, structures, etc. |
| Location Depicted | Canada--British Columbia--Victoria |
| Digital Collection | Alaska, Western Canada and United States Collection
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| Order Number | AWC0784
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| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction, inquire about permissions, or for information about prices see: http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/services/reproduction-info |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division |
| Repository Collection | Canada Photograph Collection. PH Coll 393 |
| Object Type | Photograph |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from a photographic print using a Microtek Scanmaker 9600XL at 100 dpi in JPEG format at compression rate 3 and resized to 768x600 ppi. 2004. |
| Restrictions | For information on permissions for use and reproductions please visit UW Libraries Special Collections Reproduction & Use page
http://content.lib.washington.edu/sc-use.html |
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