Some Important Architects & Builders In Victoria History
Thomas Hooper (1859-1935)
Thomas Hooper (1859-1935) left a very significant legacy in Victoria’s architectural history. Thomas Hooper maintained his own architectural practice as well as a partnership with C. Elwood Watkins.
909, 911 and 913 Government Street, designed by architects Thomas Hooper and C. Elwood Watkins. Built in 1903.
Here is a video about Thomas Hooper, presented by Donald Luxton at the Chilliwack Museum & Archives.
Here is a list of Thomas Hooper’s projects included on this website so far:
- Metropolitan Methodist Church (a.k.a. Pandora Avenue Methodist Church), 907 Pandora Avenue, built in 1890
- Lewis Building, 566-570 Yates Street, built for Lewis Lewis in 1891
- Cridge Centre, 1190 Kings Road, built as the B.C. Protestant Orphans Home in 1893
- 1710-1714 Government Street, built for On Hing Brothers in 1897
- Earle Building, 534 Yates Street, built for Thomas Earle in 1899.
- Vernon Block, 1000-1002 Government Street, built for Charles Vernon in 1899
- 574-580 Johnson Street, built in 1899 for D.E. Campbell and Alexander McCandless
- 909 Government Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1903
- 911 Government Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1903
- 913 Government Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1903
- Metropolitan Building, 809-817 Government Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1903 for Lewis Rostein and Joseph Rostein
- Promis Block, 1006-1010 Government Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1905
- 1019 Wharf Street – (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1905 as a warehouse for Pither & Leiser
- 570 Johnson Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins), built in 1905 for Jeune Brothers Tent & Awning
- 1202 Fort Street, built in 1906 (with C. Elwood Watkins)
- 740 View Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1907 for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria
- 557-561 Fisgard Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1908 for Lee Woy
- 840 Humboldt Street, originally St. Joseph’s Hospital, built in 1908 for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria
- 713-715 Johnson Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1908 for Mable Carriage Works
- 618-624 Johnson Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1909 for Lee Cheung, Lee Woy and Lee Yan Yow
- 536 Herald Street, (with C. Elwood Watkins) built in 1908-09 for the B. Wilson Company
- E.A. Morris Tobacconist, 1116 Government Street, renovation in 1909 for E.A. Morris Tobacconist
- 1108 Government Street, (now Munro’s Books) built in 1909-10 for the Royal Bank of Canada
- St. Ann’s Academy, 835 Humboldt Street, west wing addition, built in 1910 for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria
- 1130-1140 Government Street, (now the Bedford Regency Hotel) built in 1912 for Hibben-Bone, Booksellers & Stationers. Thomas Hooper maintained his own office in this building.
- 1320-1324 Blanshard Street, built in 1912 for Max Keiser as the Hotel Kaiserhof
The Bedford Regency Hotel, 1140 Government Street, is in a building that was originally built by architect Thomas Hooper in 1910 for Hibben-Bone Stationers
Built in 1912 by Thomas Hooper for the firm of Hibben-Bone, which used it as a retail location for its own business and rented out office space on the upper floors.
Thomas Hooper moved his own office into this building.
It is now the Bedford Regency Hotel.
1320-1324 Blanshard Street, originally built in 1912 by architect Thomas Hooper for Max Leiser, who used it for his Kaiserhof Hotel.
Built in 1912-1913 by Thomas Hooper for Max Leiser, who opened it as the Kaiserhof Hotel.
It is listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
For more information on Thomas Hooper:
- Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada
- Victoria Hallmark Society
- University of Victoria
- City of Victoria Archives photo M08352 – Thomas Hooper, 1905
As one our of Recommended Books, we also recommend Building The West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, edited by Donald Luxton, as an excellent source of further information about Thomas Hooper, his partner C. Elwood Watkins and other early architects listed on this site.
Book cover, Building The West: Early Architects of British Columbia, edited by Donald Luxton
Building The West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, edited by Donald Luxton
This is an excellent reference book for anyone interested in B.C. architectural history.
It has excellent chapters on Thomas Hooper and C. Elwood Watkins.
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