I've been reading a bit about Victoria's early history and thinking how the decisions of City leaders relate to the perceptions of Victoria today. I'm most interested in determining that point in the inter-war years where Victoria ceased being an important commercial centre and was instead promoted as a tourist destination.

I'd like to chip away at the romanticized version of Victoria's early "olde England" history and uncover evidence that early Victorians envisioned a grand city to rival San Francisco. I'd welcome any additions to the brief paragraph below. For a more comprehensive look at the development of the downtown area surrounding the Harbour read Sustain and Retain: A Short History Based on the Upper Harbour.

Victoria started out in the 1840s as an ambitious yet filthy, corrupt, violent, polluted frontier town. The old English concept was rarely more than a veneer. The original HBC settlers were primarily Scottish (most of the HBC bosses in London were English). They were soon followed by Americans (including free Blacks), Chinese and other European and Asian immigrants. The 1879 decision making the small lower mainland town of Port Moody (and later Vancouver) the terminus of the Candian Pacific Railway was a turning point in Victoria's growth as a trading hub. A turn of the Century building boom was shortly followed by a post World War I economic downturn at which point tourism would soon become a major economic force. This change required the development of an alternate history of Victoria, downplaying its role as a major Pacific trading city and emphasizing its supposed small town English feel. For instance, during this period, many of the Italianate buildings were remodelled to resemble half-timbered English Tudor construction. Several treasured Victoria institutions--icons taken for granted today--were, at the time they were proposed, considered extravagant, overbuilt, unnecessary and expensive by some unambitious Victorians. These include the Provincial Legislative buildings, City Hall and our trademark lampposts.