St. Ann's Academy (Victoria, British Columbia)

St. Ann’s Academy
Main building
General information
Architectural style	French Canadian - Quebec Provincial
Location	835 Humboldt Street Victoria, British Columbia V8W 1B1
Country	Canada
Construction started	1858 Chapel 1871 School 1886 & 1909 Convent
Client	Sisters of Saint Ann
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Joseph Michaud, Charles Verheyden, John Teague, Thomas Hooper
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	St. Ann's Academy National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	1989

St. Ann's Academy was a girls' Catholic boarding and day school from grade 3–12, and boys K–3. First Nations orphans and girls were sent to the Academy from other missions run by the Sisters of St. Ann.

The main academy building, which also served as the Provincial House, convent and novitiate, was built by the Roman Catholic Congregation of Women the Sisters of Saint Anne of Lachine, Quebec. The chapel, designed by Father Joseph Michaud, was built in 1858 as St. Andrew's Cathedral was moved in 1886 to be St. Ann's Chapel and is the oldest part of the Academy. Later a convent was added (1887) to the west side of the Academy and behind the Academy (1910).

History

The Sisters of St. Ann closed the Academy and in 1973 sold the property to the provincial government of British Columbia which used it as office space for the public service for a few years, but it was in need of major repairs and had to be closed. Years-long civic debate of diverse proposals for the future of the building and site ensued.

Placed under the stewardship of the Provincial Capital Commission, the interior of the building was gutted and rebuilt, basement to attic, providing seismic upgrade and rehabilitation into modern office space. Once completed, the majority of the building was leased to the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, a use consistent with the Sisters' aims. The exterior facade of his heritage building was retained and repaired. The chapel, parlours and infirmary were retained as an interpretive centre and restored to their 1920s decor. The auditorium at the other end of the building was also seismically upgraded and restored and is used for public lectures and concerts. The building was re-opened in 1997.

The chapel was deconsecrated when the Sisters sold the property. Since the restoration of the chapel and the adjacent Novitiate Garden, these have been used as a venue for weddings and other functions.

An annex behind the main building which had been occupied by the Victoria Conservatory of Music was demolished on September 11, 2001 following the Conservatory's move to the former Metropolitan United Church buildings. The site was cleared and became green space, merging the Academy grounds with the adjacent Beacon Hill Park.

Plaques and signage

Andrew Petter, Minister Responsible for the Provincial Capital Commission, proposal to restore St. Ann's, at a cost of $16 million.

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  entrance signage
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  re-opening plaque
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  information plaque
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  iron gate

Architecture

St. Ann’s Academy is an excellent example of Victoria's Quebec Colonial style architecture.

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  main building
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  at night
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  stairway entrance
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  noviate garden
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  west wing addition
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  west wing annex
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  main drive way
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  two styles

Chapel

St. Ann's Chapel was the original St. Andrew's Cathedral of the city of Victoria. The chapel of St. Andrew’s was designed by Brother (later Father) Michaud of the Clerics of Saint Viator.

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  St. Ann's Chapel
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  the altar
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  Casavant Frères organ, opus 517, built for the chapel in 1914
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  stained glass window
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  Anne & Joachim teaching Mary; main art piece
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  main painting
  close-up
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  Painting of the young Jesus in the temple, "Stupebant Omnes Qui Eum Audiebant"
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  Annunciation painting, "Ecce Ancilla Domini"

Other art works

The Sisters of Saint Ann had two cemeteries at the Academy, where many of the first sisters were buried. In 1908, a plot in the northeast corner of Ross Bay Cemetery was opened for future burials. Upon the closure of the Academy in 1974, the first Sisters were exhumed and reinterred in the Sisters' plot in Ross Bay.

Many of the stained glass windows were vandalized during its time of abandonment, and had to be rebuilt during the reconstruction.

Sister Mary Osithe was the painter of 'The Immaculate Conception' painting that sits in the Sisters waiting room. Sister Mary Osithe was also the architect of Little Flower Academy school in Vancouver and St. Ann's Boys' School, Quamichan.

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  garden niche of Mary where the cemetery used to be.
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  rebuilt stained glass window door to the chapel.
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  'Immaculate Conception' by Sister Mary Osithe Labossière of the Academy.

See also

• List of oldest buildings in Canada
• List of historic places in Victoria, British Columbia
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria in Canada
• Little Flower Academy
• Sisters of Saint Ann

External links

• St. Ann's Academy - official website
• Sisters of St. Ann - BC mission - founding order 2011 archive
• Catholic Diocese of Victoria
• Historic Sites & Monuments Board of Canada - Reason for designation