James Bay

Community Newspaper James Bay BEACON

Google Map of James Bay

City of Victoria, with James Bay on the right and Beacon Hill Park in the centre

The quiet residential neighbourhood and small business community of James Bay is the oldest neighbourhood in Victoria, located close to downtown Victoria and Victoria's Inner Harbour, which is actually James Bay.

James Bay still boasts many charming turn of the century residences that have retained their original Victorian splendour, many  were owned by the original Victoria settlers. The north eastern end of the harbour in James Bay was reclaimed in 1903 for the construction of the Fairmont Empress Hotel and now famous cause way in front of the Empress Hotel Leading to the BC Parliament buildings.

Heritage James Bay incorporates the area south of the Inner Harbour to Dallas Road, between downtown Victoria and the Juan de Fuca Strait, including the BC Legislative Buildings, Fisherman's Wharf, the Cruise Ship Terminal, and Ogden Point. The northern boundary of James Bay is the waterfront along the Inner Harbour, which boasts many of the most prestigious hotels in Victoria.

James Bay Village is the hub of James Bay, with a grocery store, pharmacy, liquor store, hairdresser, coffee shops, banks, and other interesting shops.

Population: 11,000+

Location: James Bay is located in the City of  Victoria, immediately south of the Inner Harbour and the downtown core of Victoria. Access to James Bay is along Belleville Street, Government Street and Douglas Street.

• Emily Carr House

  Emily Carr House is the birthplace of Emily Carr, one of Canada's first and best-known independent artist and writer. Built in 1864, the home as an architecture described as both "San Francisco Victorian" and "English Gingerbread," You'll enter into the same Victorian ambiance the Carr family would have known in the 1870s, and upstairs are several of their actual possessions, including some of Emily's pottery and sculpture.

  Emily was born here in 1871, a scant six months after British Columbia moved from British colonial status to become a province of the world's newest nation. She used her brushes and pens to proclaim her pride in this part of Canada for the rest of her life. The house is near Victoria's central Inner Harbour, at 207 Government Street, only a 10-minute walk south from the Royal B.C. Museum and the Legislative Buildings. The house is open to the general public from mid-May to mid-October, every day from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission fees are in effect. Special openings are scheduled at other times of the year, especially in December.

• If there's a quintessential image of Victoria etched in the memory of all who visit the city, it must surely be British Columbia's Legislative Buildings. At night the building takes on a magical quality, adorned with 3,333 light bulbs. Take a free tour of the Legislative Buildings and learn about provincial history and government.

• The Royal British Columbia Museum is one of the finest of its kind in the world, offering dramatic dioramas of natural landscapes and full-scale reconstructions of Victorian storefronts. Features outstanding displays on the province's history and culture, as well as national and international touring exhibits. Of particular interest is the northwest Coast Indian exhibit, rich with spiritual and cultural artifacts.

• Helmcken House, built in 1852 for pioneer doctor J.S. Helmcken, is the second oldest residence on its original site in BC. Dr. Helmcken's library, medicine chest, and medical instruments make up one of Canada's finest 19th century medical collections. Today fascinating audiotape tours will guide you through a house full of intriguing legacies.

• Historic James Bay Inn is the third oldest hotel in Victoria, preceded only by the Dominion Hotel and the Empress Hotel (1908). Opened in 1911 it has operated continuously as a hotel with only a brief interlude during the war years. From 1942 to 1945 the hotel was purchased by Mother Cecilia's religious order and operated as St. Mary's Priory. It was during this period that the hotel welcomed its most famous guest. Canadian artist and author Emily Carr was a patient at the Priory in her final illness, dying there on March 2, 1945.

• Fall in Beacon Hill Park

  For spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains, enjoy a seaside stroll in historic Beacon Hill Park on the eastern boundary of James Bay. Watch for "Mile Zero", starting point of the Trans-Canada Highway! A delightful quiet envelops this sunny spot, where walking trails link with neighbourhood streets that lead down into the busy hum of commercial activity.

  Beacon Hill Park was the site of a village that had been inhabited for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the colonial settlers in the 1840s. In 1956, renowned Kwakwaka'wakw artist Mungo Martin and his team raised the world's tallest free-standing totem pole - at 38.8 metre (128 foot) located in Beacon Hill Park.

• Kids and adults alike will enjoy Beacon Hill Children's Farm; lots of baby animals, potbelly pigs, zebu, miniature horses and other critters to meet and pet...and don't miss the goat stampede at closing time!

• Relax in a horse-drawn carriage and capture the romance of an era when tall ships moored alongside the wharf. Fabulous horse-drawn carriages have been delighting visitors with rides through Victoria for over 100 years!

• A great waterfront trail along the breakwater wraps around James Bay, stretching from the Ogden Point Breakwater all the way to Ross Bay Cemetery, providing great walking, jogging, biking and roller blading, with great views out over Juan de Fuca Strait.

• Ogden Point Dive Centre

  Located in James Bay is the Ogden Point Dive Centre, one of the premier scuba diving facilities in British Columbia, catering to weekend dive charters, scuba diving holidays, and daily dive trips to all lower island sport dive locations - including dives off the Ogden Point breakwater. The dive centre also houses a popular restaurant for dive patrons and visitors.

• The Cruise Ship Terminal at Ogden Point caters to cruise ships on the Alaska Cruise route. Cruise ships dock in Victoria allowing passengers to enjoy an exciting stop in Victoria and explore the many attractions the City of Gardens has to offer.

• Fisherman’s Wharf on the Victoria Waterfront provides boat moorage and a liveaboard marine community, as well as the best Fish & Chips in the whole world. Access to bustling Fisherman's Wharf is off Belleville and Eerie Roads, or by the little Victoria harbour ferries that link the Inner Harbour with nearby locales.

• Macdonald Park in James Bay is the recreational centre of the community, with 2 fastball diamonds (1 skinned) and 2 slopitch diamonds in spring and summer, and 2 rugby fields in fall and winter, home to the James Bay Athletic Club. Fisherman’s Wharf Park also provides a slopitch diamond in spring/summer, and a soccer pitch in fall/winter.