The Royal BC Museum in Victoria, British Columbia, where the provincial archives are located, is scheduled to close September 6, and the building will be torn down.
BC Archives’ services, however, will not be disrupted and will remain open at the downtown site until it moves to its new permanent home in the collections and research building in 2025.
The province will spend $789 million to build a new museum. Combined with the $224-million archives and collections building currently being designed for Colwood’s Royal Bay neighbourhood, the total price tag is $1 billion, which Premier John Horgan called the most significant cultural investment in the province’s history.
“For decades, people from British Columbia and around the globe have come to the Royal BC Museum to learn about our special corner of the world. For just as long, the stories told here have failed to accurately reflect our colonial history or include everyone, and priceless collections are now being put at risk in an aging building,” said Premier Horgan at Friday’s announcement.
“That’s why today, we are making this historic investment to build a safer, more inclusive and accessible modern building. Once complete, the new museum will be a flagship destination for tourism and a place where generations to come will learn about the richness and diversity of BC’s history.”
The new museum facility is scheduled to open in 2030.
