The Signing Post

Bastion Square in Victoria began as the site of Fort Victoria, established by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1843, and it has long served as an important public space. Visitors entering the fort had to obtain permission from a gatekeeper and provide letters of introduction to the Chief Factor, while ship captains signed a register there. During the Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858, more than 25,000 people arrived in Fort Victoria to buy supplies, transforming the square into a new kind of gathering place. The fort was soon demolished, and stores, hotels, saloons, a court, a jail, and law offices rose in Bastion Square. Today it stands in the heart of Victoria’s Old Town National Historic Site and includes the Maritime Museum along with shops, offices, restaurants, bars, and cafes.

British Columbia · Canada