Victoria was in its prime when these photographs were taken. The capital city was experiencing an unprecedented boom, thanks to a robust maritime economy and opportunities generated by the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway.

Victoria supported an extensive retail sector and some of the largest manufacturing works in the Pacific Northwest. It boasted some very fine buildings, including Craigdarroch, a Scottish baronial mansion completed in 1889; St. Andrew's Presbyterian church (1890); the Methodist Metropolitan church (1891); and of course St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Cathedral (1892).

According to the official census of 1891, the population of Victoria was 16,841 — but it was probably closer to 22,000, as local boosters claimed. (Civic leaders believed that Victoria had been undercounted in the Dominion census and so commissioned a municipal "check" census. The Victoria check census is available on the viHistory web site.)

Victoria's confidence is evident in a description published in Williams' British Columbia Directory. The description of Victoria was written in September 1891, a few months after these panoramic photographs were made.

Revised March 2024