The Empress Hotel, the grande dame of Victoria, is going to get a makeover. That鈥檚 good for the Empress and good for Victoria. The Empress is more than a building, it鈥檚 a presence that has graced the Inner Harbour for more than a century. Its elegance, coupled with the majesty of the sa国际传媒 parliament buildings, is essential to the heart and soul of Victoria.
鈥淭his is not just another hotel,鈥� said Vancouver developer Nat Bosa in June, just after signing the papers that made him and his wife Flora the new owners of the Empress. 鈥淭his is Victoria. This is sa国际传媒 This is history.鈥�
This week, the Bosas announced they are planning to spend more than $30 million to upgrade and renovate the Empress.
Family ownership of the hotel bodes well for its future. While large corporations are not oblivious to historical and esthetical attributes of a property, the bottom line can too easily take precedence over less-tangible values. From Nat Bosa鈥檚 comments, though, it鈥檚 clear he regards the Empress as much more than an investment.
鈥淚f it was just a hotel, I probably wouldn鈥檛 have bought it,鈥� he said in announcing the renovation plans. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the Empress. She鈥檚 a beautiful old lady. She鈥檚 a hobby. She gives a lot of joy. It borders between philanthropy and business.鈥�
Although the Bosas are the owners of record, the Empress belongs to Victorians, and to visitors from all over the world for whom the Empress is the essence of Victoria. It also belongs, in a sense, to all Canadians, having been listed as a National Historic Site since 1980.
The roots of the Empress go deep, literally and figuratively. It is built on a former tidal mud flat, used as a garbage dump until it was covered with about 300,000 tonnes of fill. The hotel鈥檚 foundations were set on pilings that go down about 18 metres through the mud to the blue clay base underneath.
With the completion of the Empress in 1908, an unsightly, unhealthful area was transformed into Victoria鈥檚 beautiful centre, a place where royalty and celebrity have dined and danced, as well as becoming a source of pride for locals.
In naming the Empress the best building on Vancouver Island, the Architecture Foundation of B.C said it is a 鈥渘ot-to-be-missed landmark from a genteel era when the Canadian Pacific Railway and its steamship services dominated the provincial economy.鈥�
The Empress survived a middle-age crisis of sorts. In 1965, it was seen as a tired, dowdy structure, and there was talk of replacing it with a modern high-rise building. Instead, the building underwent $4 million worth of renovations. In 1989, another $45 million was spent on restoration and modernizing.
It鈥檚 a good thing a far-seeing perspective prevailed in the 1960s 鈥� if we don鈥檛 preserve 50-year-old buildings, we won鈥檛 be able to celebrate any 100-year-old buildings.
Bosa said the planned renovations will make the Empress modern and more comfortable. But he also promised to preserve the historic character of the Empress. The two are not at odds with each other 鈥� the best way to preserve a heritage building is to ensure it is still useful.
It is incomprehensible to think that the Empress might have been replaced by a high-rise structure of steel and glass. That would have changed 鈥� for the worse 鈥� the whole character of Victoria.
The elegant brick building that gazes serenely over the Inner Harbour is not a sign that Victoria is stuck in the past, but recognition that the past and the future are inseparably connected.
