Description of Historic Place

The Oriental Hotel is a three-storey High Victorian Italianate building located on the north side of Yates Street in Old Town Victoria.

Heritage Value

The Oriental Hotel is an excellent example of a late nineteenth century Victorian Italianate hotel, and is notable as the work of the prominent architect John Teague. Elements relating to Teague's design include the extensive use of tall upper storey bay windows and distinct ground-storey arches - made possible by the use of cast iron columns - and reflect the state-of-the-art architectural idiom of the 1880s. The value of this design lies in its classical detailing, ironwork ornamentation, and prominent open facade, which set the Oriental Hotel apart from other historic hotels in the area.

Begun in 1883, this building is notable as one of the first hotels in the Old Town District. Its 1888 expansion, which doubled its size to include additional rooms, unique cantilevered corner bay windows, and a west facade over Oriental Alley, reflects a continued belief in the economic prosperity of the competitive hotel industry which thrived in Victoria's late nineteenth century economy. The attention to detail of this hotel's remarkably intact interior and exterior features reflects the fashionable standards of Victoria's earliest first-rate hotels.

The location of the Oriental Hotel is also significant, as it reflects the early grandeur and multi-functionality of the Yates Street commercial district.

Source: City of Victoria Planning and Development Department

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Oriental Hotel include:
-the predominant height of the building with its facade of tall bay windows;
-the brick structure trimmed with metal ornamentation and cast iron columns that support ground-storey arches;
-the Victorian Italianate architectural stylistic elements typified by the tall narrow windows, pediments, mouldings, brackets, columns, foliated capitals, and flat roof with a predominant cornice;
-the angled bay windows on the storefront facade and cantilevered bay windows on the corner of the building;
-the west facade of the building over the space in the adjacent Oriental Alley;
-the intact spatial configurations of the interior;
-the authentic fabric of the interior, such as the floors, plaster detailing on ceilings, woodwork, lighting and architectural hardware from the period of construction (1883-1888).