8.3.1 Parliament Buildings

The Parliament Buildings in Ottawa are a symbol in stone. Their towers, arches, sculptures and stained glass bring together French, English and Aboriginal traditions. The style is Gothic Revival, which was fashionable while Queen Victoria reigned, with pointed arches and tall vertical lines. The buildings were finished in the 1860s, at the time Canada was becoming a country. Anyone who walks up to them is looking at both a working seat of government and a national monument.

Parliament almost disappeared once. In 1916 an accidental fire destroyed the Centre Block, the main building where the Commons and Senate sit. Rebuilding took six years and was finished in 1922. Only one part of the original structure survived the fire: the Library. So when you look at Parliament today, most of what you see is the version built after 1916, while the Library is the older building that came through.

The Peace Tower was completed in 1927 as a memorial to the First World War. Inside it is the Memorial Chamber. There the Books of Remembrance are kept, and they record the names of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who died serving Canada, whether in war or while on duty. A page is turned each day so that every name is shown in turn. The tower is therefore a war memorial standing at the centre of the country's Parliament.