|
Street Drill Hall
620 Beatty Street
Built between 1899 and 1901, the castle-like Beatty Street Drill Hall is Vancouver's oldest surviving military
drill hall. Throughout its existence, the hall has been the headquarters and training centre for British Columbia's senior
militia regiment, The Duke of Connaught's Own. Formerly a rifle regiment and now a wheeled reconnaissance unit,
The Duke of Connaught's Own saw action in the Boer War, World War I and World War II.
The Beatty Street Drill Hall is an incredibly well-built structure. Its foundation is constructed of giant
granite blocks, its walls are three and a half feet thick with a parapet made from limestone, and its front entrance is
flanked by two round towers with battlements.
Nothing is known about the identity of the ghost (or ghosts) that haunt the Beatty Street Drill Hall. An
apparition of a man has been seen in the Senior NCOs' and Officers' messes. More commonly, strange and inexplicable noises
have been heard throughout the building, including phantom footsteps, voices, books falling from shelves and various items
suddenly falling from the walls. |
