Oak Bay Building Permits Index
Updated November 2024
This Excel file contains Oak Bay building permit data up to 31 December 1958 (permit numbers 1 to 9292), and a few permits beyond that date, usually for additions or changes to existing houses.
click here to download Excel file - ordered by street address
click here to download Excel file - ordered by permit number
Explanatory notes
A review of the building permits in this file is underway, checking entered data and adding street notes. Progress: to permit 966 as of November 2024.
Data entry and notes by Paul Maurenbrecher, volunteer at Oak Bay Archives.
Oak Bay Archives has five building permit ledgers:
1. Permits # 24 - 4649 (21 May 1909 - 15 Sep 1942) - browse images online here
Notes:
- There are two permits numbered 85.
- On p.9 of Vol 1, during 1932, the permit sequence skips from 2900 to 2951. The missing 2901-2950 appear in April-August 1933.
- On p. 46 of vo1. 1, no. 3815 is out of sequence, following 3812 on the preceding page instead of following 3814.
2. Permits # 4650 - 7151 (29 Sep 1942 - 29 May 1953) - browse images online here
3. Permits 7152 - 9592 (1 Jun 1953 - 28 Aug 1959) - browse images online here
4. Permits 9593 - 12083 (1 Sep 1959 - 9 Dec 1965 ) - browse images online here
5. Permits 12084 - 15474 (13 Dec 1965 - 17 Sep 1971) - browse images online here
Oak Bay Archives also has a cash book (ledger) containing similar information to the permit books for a limited period: permit numbers 1 (19 Sep 1908) to 3750, and 3880 to 3904.
Data for houses before 1908 with no permits are given a permit number of 0. This will allow these houses to appear before 1908 when sorted by permit number. They are listed at the end of the sheet showing the building permit entries.
Data for permits 1 to 23 was entered from the cash book. The cash book does not include the name of the building contractor.
The entries for the number of buildings, material, number of storeys, purpose of building, number of rooms & estimated cost are taken from the cash book, up to building permit # 1757. From permit 1758 onwards, this information was also added to the permit books. The estimated cost was included in the permit books from permit 1209 onwards.
Street names and numbers listed are the current ones. The original street name and number in the permit book, if different, are also shown. Current street names and numbers, if not correct in the permit books, are usually taken from appraisal cards or subsequent permits with same map, block & lot numbers. The street name is listed in the permit book but usually not the type of street (e.g. street, avenue, place, drive...). These are added in accordance to present day usage. If the original street number is not given in the permit book, the current number is added in italics. House numbers for the earlier permits were usually not entered although many were added in later in ink or pencil (see notes column under street & number; this column being updated). House numbers were usually added from permit 1015 onwards. A separate column for house numbers was added to the permit books from permit 1758 onwards.
Other data may conflict with current records, especially map, block and lot numbers. Since this is an index of the original permit records, the original data is included. Current data is often added between brackets or in the notes columns. Other added information is also added between square brackets.
Plumbing, sewer & electrical permits contained in the permit books are not included. If there is a separate line entry for plumbing & sewer, these are included so owner and house location data can be included. If given, the name of the plumbing or sewer contractor is placed in the contractor column. Often no (exact) date is included in the permit book. In this case the date for the preceding building permit is entered. When the date entered is different from the preceding building permit, the exact location of the entry is given in the 'Notes' column.
Data for pre-1908 houses and any houses with no permit number were taken from small appraisal card unless otherwise noted.
The permit book sometimes uses 'wf' as an abbreviation for 'with' (first noted in 1937 permits). In this record 'with' is used throughout.
The permit book has several columns to define the building location. Initially there were six: Section, Map, Sub-division, Block, Lot, Sub-lot (the cash book has four columns: Lot, Block, Section, Subdivision/Map). The sub-division and sub-lot columns were mainly used as overflow columns. Sub-lot information was mainly to define a particular part of the lot (e.g. W, S, Sly [i.e. abbreviation of southerly] half, ...). The sub-lot column was discontinued after permit 1127 (it was converted to estimated cost). The sub-division column was discontinued from permit 1758 onwards. In this file any information included in the sub-lot column is incorporated in the lot column.
The buildings at the Exhibition Grounds (Carnarvon Park area, formerly bounded by Neil, Eastdowne, Fair and Henderson) existed until demolished in 1949. They were also known as the Willows Fair Grounds, but to keep all such entries together, the term "Exhibition grounds" is used for the street name.
This file contains four additional columns:
- column T: the architect's or designer's name is added if known from other sources. The names were not listed in the permit books.
- column U: d or m is added if the house has been demolished or moved to another location within Oak Bay or out of Oak Bay. Demolition information is taken from small appraisal cards or the Oak Bay Archives demolition binder. This data is not up to date.
- column V: x or s is added if the house is included in Stuart Stark's book on Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings: More than just bricks and boards. 1995 printing, Hallmark Society.
- column W: x is added if the house is included in the Archives Residental Database. The database contains more detailed information about the house.
This file also contains an additional single line shaded header. This allows the space above this header to be easily erased and then the data in the file can be sorted easily.
"UVic file" refers to Architectural plans of Samuel Maclure and other architects, an inventory prepared in 1993 and stored at UVic. "McCann file" refers to an Excel file kept in the archives. Reference is also made to the book Building the West by Luxton (contains information about early architects in British Columbia).
Publications referred to:
The Life and times of Victoria architect P Leonard James. Rosemary James Cross. Dear Brutus Publishing. Victoria. 2005. 220 p. [927.2 JAM]
Oak Bay's Heritage Buildings: More than just bricks and boards. Stuart Stark. Hallmark Society. Updated for 1994.
CRD Art Deco and Moderne. Donald Luxton.
The Artistry of Art Deco. Mary Conley. 2018. published by Mary Conley. Victoria. 114 p.
Building the West: the early architects of British Columbia. Compiled & edited by Donald Luxton. Talon Books. 2003. 560 p.
St Patrick Street Oak Bay - Oak Bay Avenue to Brighton Avenue, an architectural & social history. Robert Taylor & Janet Morningstar. 2018. Published by Perivale and Taylor Consulting Inc. Vancouver & Victoria, Canada, London, UK. www.perivaleandtaylor.com.
Built by Luney Bros. Ltd. by Nancy J Hughes. Wildflower Publishing House, Victoria. 2010.172 p.
Note about street numbering from 1910-11 Henderson's Greater Victoria City Directory
The system of numbering adopted by the City of Victoria is that known at the Philadelphia or Decimal System. By this system an even hundred numbers are allotted to each block and the principal advantage of the system is that the number indicates how many blocks distant it is from any given point on the street or avenue.
A number is allotted to every 20 feet.
All short streets take their numbers from the through streets, and correspond with them.
The odd number are on the south and east sides of streets.
Dallas Road is taken as the base for all streets running northwards starting at 1 and going northwards 100 to the block to Tolmie Avenue, the northern boundary of the city.
The number at the intersection of Fort Street being 1100.
Streets running eastwards are numbered from an imaginary base line extending from the Outer Wharf to Harrie Street, starting at 1 and going eastwards 100 to the block to the eastern boundary of the city.
The number at the intersection of Douglas Street being 700.
Victoria West - Streets running north and south are numbered from Victoria harbor at a base starting at 100 thence northwards 100 to the block to Victoria Arm. Westbound streets are numbered from Point Ellice bridge as a base westwards 100 to the block to the western boundary of the City.
