622-626 Fisgard Street (Gee Tuck Tong Building)

Gee Tuck Tong Building, 622-626 Fisgard Street. Built in 1903 for the Gee Tuck Tong and the Yee Fung Toy Tong.

Here is a map showing the location of the Gee Tuck Tong building at 622-626 Fisgard Street:

Here is a Google Street View image of 622-626 Fisgard Street:

Additional Information About 622-626 Fisgard Street

• Assessed Value (July 2018): $3,148,000; Land: $2,086,000; Buildings: $1,062,000
• Assessed Value (July 2017): $2,895,000; Land: $1,801,000; Buildings: $1,094,000
• Assessed Value (July 2016): $2,700,000; Land: $1,561,000; Buildings: $1,139,000
• Assessed Value (July 2015): $2,464,000; Land: $1,329,000; Buildings: $1,135,000
• Canadian Register of Historic Places

Behind the Gee Tuck Tong Building is the Kong Sin Wing Rooming House, built in 1913, which was placed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 1991.

The Kong Sin Wing Rooming House is accessible through a narrow passageway opening through the front of the Gee Tuck Tong Building.

A Brief History of 622-626 Fisgard Street

The Gee Tuck Tong Building at 622-626 Fisgard Street was built in 1903 by two Chinese benevolent societies, the Gee Tuck Tong and the Yee Fung Toy Tong.

The Gee Tuck Tong was formed for the benefit of Chinese with the surnames Chow, Choy, Ng, Yung or Cho; the Yee Fung Toy Tong was for Chinese with the surname Yee.

In June 1903 the two societies pooled their resources, purchased this land from Leon Curdat and built this building at an estimated construction cost of $6.500. The City of Victoria’s 1903 building permit misspelled the name of the societies; the building permit was issued to Gee Duck Tong & Company.

The Gee Tuck Tong owned the western two thirds of the building (622 and 624 Fisgard Street) while the Yee Fung Toy Tong owned the eastern third at 626 Fisgard Street. This division of ownership can still be seen in the facade of the building, with its asymmetrical division of the facade into three separate sections, the two western sections (originally owned by the Gee Tuck Tong) separated visually and architecturally from the eastern section (originally owned by the Yee Fung Toy Tong).

In 1913, Kong Sin Wing retained architects Percy Fox and Ralph Berrill to design and build a tenement behind the Gee Tuck Tong building. The tenement is at 624 1/2 Fisgard Street and is accessed through a narrow passageway running perpendicular to Fisgard Street between 624 Fisgard Street and 626 Fisgard Street.

In December 1937 the City of Victoria took possession of the Gee Tuck Tong’s portion of the building (the western two thirds) for tax arrears. With the Great Depression adversely affecting land values, the City of Victoria was unable to find a buyer until March 1944, when it sold the former Gee Tuck Tong property to Chan Dun for $3,510.

In August 1949 the Chan family bought the Yee Fung Toy Tong’s portion of the building, giving the Chan’s ownership of the entire building.

Here are links to some historic photographs of 622-626 Fisgard Street:

• City of Victoria Archives photo M03886 – circa 1960 [Address mislabeled by City of Victoria Archives]
• City of Victoria Archives photo M01380 – 1959