Canadian Parliament – Ottawa, Canada
Parliament Hill is home to the Canadian Parliament and House
of Commons. At first glance, some
influences from the Palace of Westminster and its famous ’Big Ben’ Clock Tower
may come to mind. However, Parliament
Hill is quite unique in the realm of national capitol buildings. While not nearly as historic as places like
Westminster or Capitol Hill, Parliament Hill has a unique sense of Canadian style
in all its majestic glory.
History
The main parliamentary buildings were built between 1865 and
1927 in response to Canada’s confederation in 1867. The first block to be completed was the West Block in 1865. The East Block commenced construction in
1867 but was not fully completed until 1927.
The prominent Centre Block was finished in 1878, while the National
Library was finished in 1876. The first
ever session of Canadian Parliament was in June of 1866.
The building as it stands today is not the original
one. In 1916, a large fire razed the
Centre Block, destroying everything but the adjacent library behind it. Immediate efforts to rebuild the Centre
Block began shortly afterwards and it was rebuilt by 1920. A massive new tower was also in the works at
the time, known as the Peace Tower. It
was meant to commemorate the end of WWI, and was finally finished in 1927. It
was almost double the size of the original Victoria Tower, and now stands at
92.2 metres.
Description
The Parliament Hill buildings are closely related to the
Gothic Revival style of architecture spurred by Victorian designers looking to
bring back medieval forms in the light of newer building techniques. The unique feature of Parliament Hill in
terms of Gothic Revival style is that it is built entirely from rough stones
hewed from the Canadian Shield. In this
respect, it is a unique kind of Gothic Revival structure that lacks the smooth
elegance of buildings like the Palace of Westminster. In architectural terms, however, the move to use Canadian stone
was a brilliant one that helped to define the country. The color of the stones is several shades darker
than most Gothic Revival buildings. The
entire building has a rough, natural look despite the heavy use of
ornamentation. There are almost 400
different stone carvings around the building that include a number of gothic
elements like gargoyles, grotesques, and friezes.
Part of a unique 112,000 square metre plot of land reserved
for national buildings, the Parliament buildings stand atop a large hill
overlooking the scenic Ottawa River. In
the winter, the river becomes the largest skating surface in the world with a
length of 8 kilometres.
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