HISTORY OF OUR BUILDING
541 ½ & 543 ½ FISGARD
The Fisgard block, formerly known as The Sheam & Lee Building, was valued as part of a grouping of early buildings that contribute to the historic character and urban pattern of Victoria’s Chinatown. The property changed hands several times and was leased by Lee Mong Kow who then built the Western addition to the building.
The Fisgard block also links to the interior of the block via Fan Tan Alley which, in the early 1900s, housed gambling and opium dens shielded from the non-Chinese community by a series of heavy wooden doors. 539-541 Fisgard were occupied by the Shake Shake Hand Club, typical of the many private clubs in Chinatown mainly for gambling and/or smoking opium.
These historic suites are the founding rooms of the “Fan Tan Hotel” as a branded, unflagged boutique hotel catering to an audience that values a spectacular, curated, authentically heritage-based guest experience. This hotel concept celebrates the history and resilience of Chinese immigrants, their contributions to modern Victoria, and the authentic cultural heritage of Canada’s oldest Chinatown. The Fan Tan Hotel allows guests an unprecedented opportunity to “feel” the history of this special place. This experiential, limited-service, suites-hotel will bring a style of accommodation to Victoria that simply cannot be recreated elsewhere in the city. The richness and authenticity of the retained architectural fabric, both interior and exterior, combined with the personal histories of the former occupants, allows guests immersive participation in a vibrant past.
