From historic buildings to missing toilets, UVic is more mysterious than you think
Photo by Ethan Barkley.
It’s a crisp October morning, and you’re walking through campus to class. There is a chill in the air. Something feels awry, but you can’t put your finger on what. You hear a ghostly noise, or maybe it’s an unseen presence. You turn, but nothing is there. You tell yourself it was the wind. Something cracks beneath your foot — only a leaf. But you still can’t relax, or shake the feeling. Campus just feels… mysterious.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. There are more than enough mysteries on campus to keep us thoroughly spooked all month long: An abandoned, smiley-faced observatory, a bathroom with no toilets, an inexplicable pyramid. The Martlet sought to uncover UVic’s top five campus mysteries. Some we did… others will have to remain unsolved.
Hamsterley Farm Water Tower
Photo via Historic Places.
Taking a walk down Sinclair Road past the Cluster neighbourhood, you’re likely to have seen this building before. This wooden, shingle-sided structure is half concealed by foliage — a factor which, no doubt, adds to its mystique. Over the course of my undergrad, I’ve heard a number of theories about what it actually is, from a World War Two-era building to a beekeeping apparatus.
While UVic has a few buildings that date back to the Second World War, this one is actually much older. Built in 1911, it originally served as a water tower for Algernon and Laetitia Pease’s farm, which they dubbed “Hamsterley Farm.” In addition to the farm, the Peases ran a strawberry jam factory on the property as well. Alice Maud Robertson took over the property in 1933, and called it “Drummadoon.” She expanded the tower to the wood shingled structure it is today, and used it as a stable for her family’s horses.
The tower was damaged in a fire in 2003, but was restored to its current state two years later.
McPherson Library’s missing toilets
Photo by Sage Blackwell.
If you’ve spent any time at all in the McPherson Library, you’ve probably found yourself in the basement washrooms at one point or another. What these washrooms lack in ambience or atmosphere they make up for in sheer capacity — or at least, that’s the first impression they’re likely to give.
In reality, these washrooms have a secret. Not a particularly dark secret, but a secret nonetheless — at least half of the stalls are empty. And I don’t mean missing one or two amenities, like a coat hook or a proper lock. I mean completely empty.
Past this point, unfortunately, the trail went cold — the problem of the missing toilets will have to remain a mystery for now.
The “Hut” buildings
Photo by Ethan Barkley.
Sharp-eyed observers who frequent the area around the Center for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA) and the Student Wellness Building may have noticed a number of mysterious historic buildings known only as the “Huts.” A familiar UVic sign indicates their affiliation with the University, but provides next to no information about their purpose.
Luckily, the Martlet is here to answer your burning questions about these buildings. Originally, these structures belonged to the Gordon Head Military Camp, which was built in 1940 to serve a multitude of functions during the Second World War. After the war ended, the camp was used briefly to house veterans and their families, before returning to its original purpose during the Korean War.
When Victoria College — the precursor to UVic — purchased the property in 1959, it preserved a number of these buildings. While most have been dismantled due to their age, seven of them remain, and are now used by UVic as offices and research centres.
The Elliott Building Observatory
Photo by Ethan Barkley.
Many UVic students know that the Physics and Astronomy department has an on-campus observatory which sometimes is used to host open house events where attendees can learn more about astronomy and take a look through the observatory telescopes.
So, for most of my time at UVic, I walked past the smiley-faced white dome atop the Elliott Building without giving it a second thought — comforted by the thought of my fellow students up there, gazing beyond the stars.
I was thoroughly rattled, then, when I learned that these open houses take place in the Bob Wright Centre, and not Elliott — a revelation that left me deeply curious about this dome. What is it used for? And why is it smiling?
The Elliott Building dome, we discovered, used to house the Climenhaga Observatory, and according to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, its iconic smiley face first appeared as a student prank in 1969. However, the Climenhaga Observatory was relocated to the Bob Wright Centre in the late 2000s — meaning the old observatory space has been inactive for more than a decade.
All the Martlet was able to discover is that the former observatory space is now used for storage — but whether it contains old astronomical equipment, or proof of extraterrestrial life, we may never know.
The MacLaurin Ziggurat
Photo by Ethan Barkley.
Perhaps no other structure on campus invites speculation quite like the Ziggurat, a partial concrete pyramid that sits outside the MacLaurin building at the edge of the Quad. The name — Ziggurat — refers to a type of pyramid-like structure which originated in ancient Mesopotamia.
Throughout my undergrad, I’ve heard a number of strange tales about this particular structure — the strangest of which being that the area beneath it contained University archives. As exciting as that would be, there seems to be no evidence that anything is buried beneath it.
According to a document provided by UVic, the Ziggurat pre-dates the MacLaurin building, and was originally envisioned as a pair of structures at either end of the Quad. These would be places where members of the UVic community could meet and exchange ideas. Its partner, which was never constructed, would have sat where the Petch Fountain now resides.
When it was constructed in the mid-1960s, the designers probably didn’t anticipate it would be the subject of so much speculation. But maybe this is the Ziggurat working as intended, encouraging students to meet and talk — even if only to share wild theories about it.
If you know of any campus mysteries that you want answered, send them to edit@martlet.ca.
