Maritime Museum Birdcage Elevator

Built in 1899, the lift at this Victoria museum is North America’s oldest operating birdcage elevator. As the museum once housed the Provincial Law Courts, the elevator was originally designed for use by Theodore Davie, the second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, who at the time was suffering from advanced heart disease. Davie unfortunately passed away before he could ever use it. Though it was constructed well over a century ago, the elevator’s gold exterior and blue grillwork has been meticulously maintained and the ride still a surprisingly smooth one.