Building Stones of Canada's Federal Parliament Buildings

Volume 28 Numbu 1 also restored the role of the geologist, with they represent. Their design and construc- the requirement to understand the tion has been the work of formative complex reactions of the building stone to architects and builders. Great pains have the environment and its neighbouring been taken to ensure that these are masonry clcments, and in the quest to significant structures, of unique design find suitable replacement stone. and beauty, using quality materials and built with exacting craftsmanship, worrhy R~UM~ of thc importance of the business that Les pierres de construction utilisk pour transpirs within thcir walls. Canada's les tdifices du Parlement h Omwa Parliament Buildings in Ottawa are no prwienncnt de nombreuses carrikres exception. autant au Canada, aux &ts-Unis que de This is the first of a series of Building Stones plusieurs pays europkns. Ells ont et4 articles about the building stones of till&, pods et sculpt& suivant des Canada's federal and provincial Parlia- of Canada's Federal procedCs precis, en conformite avec 1s ment Buildings. Historians, political Parliament Buildings r&glesde I'an de I'epoque. La rcconstruc- scientists, architects, and engineers have tion de I'Cdifice du centre qui est le sujet written at length about the buildings and D.E. Lawxnce du prCsent article, a ttt une &rc qui tbcir varied histories. Geologists, for the Geological Survey of Cad s'est Ctirk Ctant donnt les prioritCs lors de most part, have been silent. It is expected GO1 Booth Smrt la Grande Guerrc de 1914-1918. Ces that this series will be written by a Ottawa, Ontario KIA OE8 pierres de revetement des edifices du number of geologists, and may cover all [email protected] Parlement ont subi les avanies du climat, provinces and territories to document the du feu, de tremblements de terre et de la stories of the stones themselves. SUMMARY pollution, et recemment, des efforts et des Thc Federal Parliament Buildings The building stones used in the Ottawa fonds considirables ont et6 consentis are perhaps Canada's finest example of Parliament Buildings were mined from pour la restauration des ClCments de what has been termed "High Victorian numerous quarries in Canada, United maqonnerie de tous les tdifices afin eclecticism," a kind of Canadian national States, and several European nations. d'assurer la ptremitt de ce site historique architectural style (Kalman, 1994). This They were cut, placed and carved accord- national. Le rble dtterminant du gto- style is also known informally as "pictur- ing to exacting procedures using the most loguc, Ion de I'evaluation initiale et du esque Gothic revival style," and includes up-to-date technology of the time. choix des pierres, a it6 largement ignore many elements from medieval architec- Construction of the rebuilt Centre Block, jusqu'i maintenant, mais la resrauration ture. The composition of the Federal the focus of this article, was a protracted des edifices a permis de remettre en valeur Parliament Buildings has been described &air, interrupted by the demands of the le rdle du gtologue, parce qu'il fallair as bold and effective, a tribute to the 1914-1918 Great War. Exterior stone of d'abord comprendre les rkctions com- architects and politicians of the mid-19th the Parliament Buildings has endured the plexes des pierres de construction avcc century. The Centre Block in particular, ravages of weather, fire, seismic shaking I'environnement et les autres 6lCrnents de as reconstructed in the early years of the and pollution. Recently, great effort and ma~onnerieavoisinants, afin de pouvoir 20th century, is a fitting geographic and expense have been devoted to the restora- trouver des pierres de remplacement architectural site for the heart of the tion of the masonry elements of all of the convenables. Canadian government (Maidand et aL, buildings to ensure the continued 1992). Following urban rivalries princi- viability of this National Historic Site. INTRODUCflON pally among Kingston, Montreal and The role of the geologist, critical in the Canada's legislative buildings arc not only Ottawa over which town or city would initial evaluation and selection of the the place of business for governments, become the capid of the Province of building stone, was largely ignored until they are also monuments to the social and Canada, Queen Victoria, acting on the recently. Building restoration of late has economic progress of the jurisdictions advice of colonial officials, setrled the issue on the last day of December 1857, designating Ottawa as the capital of the Province. The grand scale of the Ottawa Parliament Buildings and their setting is a credit to those of the day. Although conceived as only the capital of the province, following Confederation in 1867 the buildings became available to serve as parliament for the new Domin- ion of Canada, comprising Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The legislature of the Province of Canada (1 84 1- 1867) first sat in Canada's Federal Parliament Buildings on 8 June 1866. In 1916, a fire destroyed the original Centre Block and the Victoria Tower. This paper focuses on the reconstruction of the Centre Block and the Peace Tower which replaced the original buildings, a monumental task that took 12 years to complete. The emphasis in this article is on the exterior stone, the WnStNc- tion history. and recent restoration. Background Canada's Parliament Buildings are located Figure 1 Aerial view of Parliament Hill looking northwest, summer, 1774. Thr Rideau on an 11.6 ha site near the edge of a 50 Canal and locks, completed in 1832, lie immediately to the east: the Chateau Laurier Hotel m limestone cliff commanding a view is seen at lower right on the east bank of the Canal; the Ottawa River is seen to the north. over the Ottawa River to the north, and National Air Photo Library, Natural Resources Canada. the Rideau Canal to the east (Fig. 1). In 1977 Parliament Hill and all of its buildings were designated as a National C Historic Site. The Parliament Buildings com- prise three main "blocks": the south- facing Centre Block with its attached Peace Tower in front and Library at the hack (Fig. l), flanked on either side by East and West blocks. All three face inward to form three sides of a large quadrangle. The eternal flame, built in 1967 to commemorate Canada's confederation, is located on the south side of the quadrangle. The East and West blocks, built between 1859 and 1865, are original structures, as is the Library. The Centre Block and the Peace Tower were reconstructed &er the original Centre Block and Victoria Tower, built 1859- 1878 (Fig. 2), were burned beyond saving on 3 February 1916 (Fig. 3). The design for the original mid- 1800s buildings was selected from 16 submissions. The winning design, formally identified as "High Victorian Gothic Rwival style," was submitted by Figure 2 The original Cenrre Block and \'ictoria Tower, huilr benwen 1859 and 1866, wcre architects Thomas Fuller and Chilion destroyed by fire on 3 February 1916. I'hoto circa 1885, National Archivcs of Canada PA ]ones of Toronto, Ontario (then Canada 178205. Volume 28 Number 1 West). The construction contract was steel-reinforced stone building, approxi- was $12,379,846.92 (Canada Parliament, awarded on 27 November 1859 to Mr. mately 143 m long by 84 m deep. undated), almost two and a half times the Thomas McGreevy of Quekc Ciry, Although occupying almost the same original estimate of $5,000,000. It took Canada East. Later, at McGreevyi footprint as the original 4-storey building, 12 yean to complete, 9 years more than suggestion, the conwact was divided, and it provided 47% additional interior space. estimated. Messen. Jones, Haycock and Co. of Port Its Modern Gothic Revival design is Since reconstruction, the Centre Hope, Canada West (Ontario from characterized by features such as wing Block and Peace Tower have undergone 1867). assumed responsibility for con- towers, high-pitched variegated roofs, constant change, including the addition structing the Departmental Buildings, pierced by dormers, horizontal courses, and rearrangement of interior space, now known as the East and West blocks. pointed stone arches at windows and updating of infrastructure, and the The original contract price for the doors, and carved ornaments (for readers completion of ornamentation. They have construction of the Centre Block and not familiar with architectural terms, a also suffered the ravages of local industrial Victoria Tower was $348,500, and for the glossary is included as Table 1. Terms pollution, thousands of frcaelthaw East and West blocks, $278,810. All defined in the glossary are bold printed cycles, and the effects of road salt. Major buildings were to be completed by 1862. throughout the text). The dominant renovations and rehabilitation of the Although the Centre Block was not feature of Parliament Hill, the Peace structure have been undertaken recently, finished, the Legislature first sat in the Tower, built between 19 19 and 1927, and more are planned for the near Future. new building in June 1866. Costly rises 97.5 m in height, replacing the overruns, caused principally by poor original Victoria Tower (60 m). The Stone for the Original Buildings construction management, pushed the design for the reconstructed Centre Block Although this article focusses on the completion price to $1,750,720 for the and Peace Tower incorporated some of the building stone of the reconstructed Centre Block, Victoria Tower and Library, most up-to-date building materials and Centre Block and Peace Tower, many of and $641,036 each for the East and West techniques available at the time. the decisions on the building style and blocks (Canada Parliament, 1891).

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