| |
Posted Oct 18, 2008, 10:49 PM
|
 |
Majestic
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Calgary
Posts: 12,010
|
|
Alberta Legislature
City: Edmonton
Built: 1912
Style: Beaux Arts
Material: Granite and Sandstone exterior, Marble interior
Courtesy of Ian McKenzie
Excerpt from the Legislative Assembly of Alberta:
Quote:
The Citizen's Guide to the Alberta Legislature
Part V: Other Topics of Interest
The Legislature Building
On March 15, 1906, Alberta’s First Legislature opened its First Session. There was no Legislature Building for members to meet in, so the opening ceremonies were held at Edmonton’s Thistle Roller and Ice Rink just north of Jasper Avenue, after which the Assembly moved to nearby McKay Avenue school.
In these modest surroundings, the members dealt with the first item of business for the new province: deciding on a capital city. Because Edmonton was the centre of Alberta’s newly booming agricultural sector and a Liberal stronghold, it won the honour.
Choosing a site for the building was easy. The high-cliffed bank of the North Saskatchewan River was both physically commanding and historically significant. Here was the site of Fort Edmonton, a major fur trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, around which the settlement of Edmonton had developed.
Beaux Arts Style
Alberta’s Legislature Building was designed by provincial architect Allan Merrick Jeffers, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in the United States. He was probably influenced by the state capitol building there, which was in the popular Beaux Arts style. This style is evident in the design of our Legislature Building: the T-shaped floor plan; the building’s entrance, or portico, supported by massive columns; the dome rising above a spacious rotunda.
Materials suitable for the building’s lofty design were shipped to Edmonton: granite from Vancouver Island for the exterior of the first storey, Paskapoo sandstone from the Glenbow quarry near Calgary and sandstone from Ohio for the remaining four storeys, and marble for the interior.
Construction began in 1907, and in September 1912 the Duke of Connaught, Canada’s Governor General, declared the Legislature Building officially open. The interior’s grandeur was obvious from the moment the front doors first opened. The main entrance leads directly into the rotunda, which is encircled by marble columns. Its walls rise from the main floor to the vaulted dome, a distance of 55 metres (180 feet). The rotunda connects the east and west wings of the main floor to the great marble staircase that leads to the Assembly Chamber. The Chamber has its own dome and is lit by stained-glass skylights and about 600 light bulbs.
The Legislature Building has undergone many changes since its 1912 opening. Richard Blakey, provincial architect until 1923, added the dome-within-a-dome you see when you look up from the rotunda. In 1932 palm seeds, a gift from the state of California, were planted in pots in the gallery ringing the interior dome; these are now five large trees peering down at the rotunda's fountain. The fountain itself has come and gone more than once. The first fountain was constructed in 1939 and removed shortly thereafter, while the present one was built in 1959 to commemorate the first official visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The mahogany panels that grace the walls of the Chamber were added in 1987, as was an elegant pale green carpet and new gallery seating.
The building also houses images of our history and political traditions. Inside the rotunda are two bronze statues, one of Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, after whom the province is named, and one of Chief Crowfoot, a Blackfoot Indian leader whose policy of co-operation led to the peaceful settlement of Alberta. Portraits of Premiers and Lieutenant Governors adorn the walls of the third floor, and you can view portraits of Alberta’s Speakers one floor above. Decorative hardwood carvings include coats of arms above the main entrance to the Chamber, above the Speaker’s Chair in the Chamber, and in the Carillon Room on the fifth floor. The building also contains the offices of the Premier, the cabinet and other government members, the Speaker, and the Lieutenant Governor.
A Place for People
The Legislature Building belongs to all Albertans. It is here that the members we elect carry out our business. Within the Chamber they decide how our tax dollars will be spent and debate and enact the laws we live by. Decisions important to all of us are made within its walls.
During the 1970s the surrounding grounds were transformed from a snarl of old buildings and traffic to a park that would make the Legislature a more welcoming place for Albertans and tourists alike. The old houses were bulldozed and the traffic and parking moved underground; in their place is now a vast green landscape with fountains, walkways, and a reflecting pool. Due to the transformation, the Legislature Building is now the place for public ceremonies.
Providing added charm to the building and grounds is the clear, bell-like sound of carillon music you sometimes hear outside. The carillon, located on the fifth floor, was installed in 1967 to commemorate Canada’s Centennial. A carillon works much like an organ: when its keyboard is played, metal hammers strike finely tuned metal rods. The Legislature carillon has 391 such rods that make the sound of bells. The music is amplified throughout the grounds and is especially invigorating on a crisp winter’s day.
The grounds, which were completed in 1983, have not only become a favourite summer park but also the site of many historic occasions. Members of Britain’s royal family have been received here, and in 1988 the Olympic torch relay paused on the building’s front steps. Every year thousands of citizens gather to celebrate events such as Family Day, Canada Day, and Celebrate The Season at the Legislature. Grounds improvements include a pedway system linking the Legislature, the Annex, several government buildings, and the city LRT system. The pedway houses the Interpretive Centre and Gift Shop, where all tour services originate.
Plan for the second (main) floor of the Legislature Building. The Assembly Chamber
is at the top of the marble staircase, on the third floor.
|
Source: http://www.assembly.ab.ca/pub/gdbook/Part5/page16.htm
__________________
"The only thing that gets me through our winters is the knowledge that they're the only thing keeping us free of giant ass spiders." -MonkeyRonin
Flickr
Last edited by Boris2k7; Oct 18, 2008 at 11:22 PM.
|
|
|
Prev
Linear Mode
