The Canadian Pacific Railway Steamship Terminal building on Victoria’s Inner Harbour was designed by architect Francis Rattenbury, with assistance from Percy James, and built in 1924.
For over 50 years, the Canadian Pacific liners Empress of India, Empress of Japan and Empress of China were regular callers at Victoria, carrying mail, passengers and freight across the Pacific. In 1974, Canadian Pacific Steamships ended passenger service. The terminal was sold the following year to the government of British Columbia.
The Royal London Wax Museum occupied the building until 2010, at which time it was forced to close due to $3-million seismic upgrade project that the Steamship Terminal building required. The renovated building is currently home to The Robert Bateman Centre.