Strathcona Hotel Victoria

With it's roots dating back to the beginning of the 1900's The Strathcona Hotel has been a Downtown Victoria landmark for almost a century now. Over the years there have been many changes but one thing remains the same, The Strathcona Hotel is dedication to serving the Victoria community. Originally constructed in 1913 as an office building it was open for only one year before being called upon to serve Canada as an Officers barracks during the first world war. Because of the renovations needed to convert the then office space to living quarters once the war ended the doors were reopened to the public and in 1918 The Strathcona Hotel was born.

    The hotel was purchased on May 1st 1946 by H. G. “Barney” Olson, beginning the tradition of service excellence enjoyed by all of her visitors. Barney Olson with his two sons Keith and John, both university graduates of  Cornell and Denver respectively, committed themselves to making the Strathcona a community landmark One of John's first jobs at the hotel was as a bartender in the then new Strathcona Room which had just been granted the first liquor license in British Columbia ( July 1st 1954 ), “Back then you had to go outside the city limits to a beer parlour if you wanted a drink.” recalls John. “You couldn't sell liquor in the downtown area except in private clubs. When this was changed we put on two shifts and built the Strathcona Room in 28 days and got the first liquor license issued.” Now the Strathcona Hotel is a Downtown Victoria attraction and known city wide as "Victoria's Main Attraction"