![Parliament Hill from a Hot Air Balloon, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Y2K (7173715788)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Parliament_Hill_from_a_Hot_Air_Balloon%2C_Ottawa%2C_Ontario%2C_Canada%2C_Y2K_%287173715788%29.jpg)
The Canadian Parliament Buildings are the
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
building
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...
s housing the
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
, located on
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...
,
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada.
Parliament Buildings
The Parliament Buildings are three edifices arranged around three sides of Parliament Hill's central lawn, the use and administration of the spaces within each building overseen by the speakers of each chamber of the legislature.
The
Centre Block
The Centre Block (french: Édifice du Centre) is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members ...
(completed 1927, replaced 1866 fire-ravaged original) has the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and
Commons
The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
chambers, and is fronted by the Peace Tower on the south facade, with the
Library of Parliament
The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa ...
(completed 1876) at the building's rear. The
East Block
The East Block (officially the Eastern Departmental Building; french: Édifice administratif de l'est) is one of the three buildings on Canada's Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing offices for parliamentarians, as well as some preser ...
(completed 1866) and
West Block
The West Block (officially the Western Departmental Building; french: Édifice administratif de l'ouest) is one of the three buildings on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 28 January 2019, it has housed the interim House of Commons Chamb ...
(completed 1865) each contain ministers' and senators' offices, as well as meeting rooms and other administrative spaces.
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
has been used as the unifying style of all three structures, though the Centre Block is a more
modern Gothic Revival, while the older East and West Blocks are of a Victorian High Gothic.
Architecture
![ParliamentHillLibraryOttawa01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/ParliamentHillLibraryOttawa01.jpeg)
This collection is one of the world's most important examples of the Gothic Revival style; while the buildings' manner and design are unquestionably Gothic, they resemble no building constructed during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. The forms were the same, but their arrangement was uniquely modern. The parliament buildings also departed from the Medieval models by integrating a variety of eras and styles of Gothic architecture, including elements from
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
, and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, all in three buildings. In his 1867 ''Hand Book to the Parliamentary and Departmental Buildings, Canada'', Joseph Bureau wrote
The style of the Buildings is the Gothic of the 12th and 13th Centuries, with modifications to suit the climate of Canada. The ornamental work and the dressing round the windows are of Ohio sandstone. The plain surface is faced with a cream-coloured sandstone of the Potsdam formation, obtained from Nepean
Nepean may refer to:
Places Australia
*Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia,
**Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia,
**Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality
*Nepean Highway, Victoria
*Nepean Island (Norfolk Island) ...
, a few miles from Ottawa. The spandril
A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
s of the arches, and the spaces between window-arches and the sills of the upper windows, are filled up with a quaint description of stonework, composed of stones of irregular size, shape and color, very neatly set together. These with the Potsdam red sandstone employed in forming the arches over the windows, afford a pleasant variety of color and effect, and contrast with the general masses of light coloured sandstone, of which the body of the work is composed.
The sculptural ornament is overseen by the Dominion Sculptor. Five people have held the position since its creation in 1936:
Cléophas Soucy (1936–50),
William Oosterhoff
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...
(1949–62),
Eleanor Milne
Rose Eleanor Milne (May 14, 1925 – May 17, 2014) was a Canadian sculptor best known for her work as the Dominion Sculptor of Canada, a position that she held from 1961 until her retirement in 1993.
Early life
Milne was born on May 14, 1925, in ...
(1962–93),
Maurice Joanisse Maurice may refer to:
People
*Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
*Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...
(1993–2006) and
Phil R. White
Phil R. White (born 1963) is a Canadian artist and sculptor. He is the Dominion Sculptor of Canada, a position whose duties include the creation of original works of art in sculpture. His works are primarily in figurative art. He is an architect ...
(2006–present).
Alterations
![Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee on Parliamant Hill](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Queen_Victoria%27s_Diamond_Jubilee_on_Parliamant_Hill.jpg)
The only structure on Parliament Hill to have been purposefully demolished was the
old Supreme Court building, which stood behind the West Block and housed the Supreme Court of Canada between 1889 and 1945. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, there were proposals to demolish other parliamentary precinct buildings, including the Library of Parliament and West Block for new structures, and the East Block for parking, but none of these plans were adopted. Instead, renovations were undertaken to the East Block, beginning in 1966.
In 2002, an extensive $1 billion renovation project began across the parliamentary precinct,
specifically focusing on masonry restoration, asbestos removal, vehicle screening, parking, electrical and mechanical systems, and improved visitors' facilities.
The Library of Parliament and Peace Tower, as well as some exterior areas of masonry on the Centre Block have so far been completed, though focus has shifted to the West Block due to its rapidly deteriorating cladding. In 2018, when the Centre Block is slated to be closed for ten years to carry out an extensive interior restoration and upgrade, the inner courtyard of the newly renovated West Block will be enclosed and fitted with a temporary chamber for the House of Commons while the Senate will be temporarily relocated down Wellington St. in The Government Conference Centre. Restoration of the East block is set to commence upon completion of Centre Block's restoration.
References
External links
{{coord missing, Ontario
Legislative buildings in Canada
Parliament of Canada buildings