The
Hallmark Society Streetscape Project
Community
Partners:
The Hallmark Society of Victoria
Web Site:
http://www.hallmarksociety.ca
Office email office@hallmarksociety.ca
Project
Directors:
Helen Edwards, Hallmark Society
E-mail: helen@highspeedplus.com
Martin Segger, Maltwood Art Museum & Gallery, University of
Victoria
E-mail: msegger@uvic.ca
Collaborators:
Dr. Chris Thomas, Department of History in Art
Dr. Larry McCann, Department of Geography
Student
Researchers:
Summer Student Assistants: Erin Coulson, History in Art; Esther
Parker, Geography
UVic Arts and Writing Co-op: Gillian Saunders, English; Kevin
Smith, Professional Writing and Leisure Studies
Young
Canada Works: Ayla Lepine and Christina Smylitopoulos, History
in Art; Eliane Macdonald, Geography
Youth Community Action Program: MaryAnne McGrath,
Anthropology; Samantha van Vollen, Visual Arts
What can the buildings in a neighbourhood teach us? How can we
find the stories behind the bricks and mortar? The Hallmark Society
embarked on an ambitious photographic documentation of three Victoria
neighbourhoods in the spring of 2001. Funded by the BC Arts and
Heritage Fund and the CURA program at UVic, the project hired
two students to photograph every structure, landmark feature and
streetscape in the three areas while four students undertook extensive
research in the City of Victoria archives. Over 6,000 photographs
were taken and preliminary research has been completed on almost
2/3 of these. Public input was sought through open meetings and
articles in the Fairfield Observer. The stories gathered from
the people who live, work and play in the structures helped construct
the social and architectural history of some of the oldest areas
in the city. Through a partnership with the Victoria Heritage
Foundation, access was gained to recent and key information catalogued
from building plans at Victoria City Hall.
A large, portable display with multiple panels, outlining the
project and the research has
been constructed. The panels highlight and examine examples
of the diverse architectural styles in the Gonzales and Fairfield
areas. The display entitled Fairfield Vernacular has been set
up in public spaces in Victoria and is available in pdf format
under on the Hallmark
Society web site under 'Special Projects'. The project
has had a positive impact on other communities in the Capital
Regional District as well. Helen Edwards was a speaker at the
Blanshard Community Centre when a heritage inventory of that area
was discussed. Stories gleaned from this research are included
in a chapter in "Untold
Stories of British Columbia" published by the Humanities
Centre at UVic.
