In 1914 the Pacific Coast headquarters for the Dominion Meteorological Services, commonly known as the Gonzales Observatory, was built on top of Gonzales Hill to the designs of William Henderson, Dominion Government Architect for BC.
Originally the building was constructed for geophysical measurements, but was adapted by Denison for astronomic observation. As the ambient city light made this location less for astronomy, it became the home of a Atmospheric Environment Service weather station.
It was also from there that the time ball, which was located on the top of the Belmont Building (Humboldt and Government Sts), was activated every day at noon by the superintendent of the station.
The observatory operated as a weather station for 75 years,recording weather data as well as astronomical and seismic data until Environment Canada the building in 1989.
The observatory grounds were reopened as part of a wilderness park in 1992 after the CRD purchased the property. The Gonzales Observatory is part of the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences (SEOS) Biogeochemistry Facility at the University of Victoria, and also houses the Land Conservancy head office.
Located at the top of Gonzales Hill, the observatory grounds provide some of the best scenic vistas of Victoria, Juan de Fuca Strait, the Olympic mountains and the Sooke Hills.
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