After checking-in, we wasted no time and zoomed out of the hotel door after only 20 minutes.
The first attraction where I took my husband was the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, the seat of power in this province that houses the BC Legislative Assembly. Standing on five hectares of lush property and with an imposing neo-Baroque architecture, it is one of the most dominant features of the Victoria downtown core. The buildings face north on Belleville Street overlooking the Inner Harbour and diagonally across from the Empress Hotel, another imposing structure.
A statue of Queen Victoria stands on the front lawn, along with the BC Legislature Cenotaph commemorating the province’s heroes from the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Afghanistan War. Atop the Central Dome is a gold-covered statue of Captain George Vancouver, a British Officer of the Royal Navy, who explored and chartered North America’s northwestern Pacific Coast from 1791 to 1795. Vancouver Island (where Victoria sits), as well as the cities of Vancouver in both BC and Washington State were named after him.
A poster by the front door indicated that free guided tours were conducted and that the next one was to start in ten minutes. Since we were already there, we figured we could better acquaint ourselves with the building’s history and architecture, as well as the province’s Parliamentary process with the help of an official guide. There were about fifteen other people waiting outside and before we knew it, the official guide appeared from nowhere, greeted us, and announced that the tour would commence. He was such a gregarious and energetic storyteller that he managed to turn an otherwise bland discourse about architecture, governance, and politics into a very engaging discussion with interesting questions popping up from the participants.
We learned that this building was designed by a very young 25-year-old architect by the name of Francis Mawson Rattenbury. He also had the Empress Hotel, the Steamship Terminal, and the Vancouver Art Gallery under his sleeve. During construction, he made sure that local materials from BC were used to highlight the province’s natural resources – Nelson Island granite for the foundation and the stairs, andesite from Haddington Island for the façade, and West Coast Douglas fir for most of the wooden components.
The exterior was laden with sculptures designed by the provincial librarian – 14 statues of important men in BC history, and 12 figures of women, all allegorical, three around each of the main building's four domes that added to its palatial appeal.
Inside, there is an elegant Reception Hall where the BC Coat of Arms and the giant portrait of Queen Elizabeth II serves as a reminder that this is the place where importance decisions regarding the administration of this province are made in matters of health, education, transportation, environment, housing, and the like. This is where laws are proposed, debated, and passed. As the Legislative Assembly is not in session for most of the summer, we got the chance to visit the room where all the action happens. When in session, the room can also be seen and all the political action can be observed from the Public Gallery.
While we were admiring the stained-glass windows that commemorate The Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees, as well as the domed ceilings of the Lower and Memorial Rotundas, our guide told us about the controversial murals that used to adorn the rotunda, painted directly on its walls. The images depicted scenes from BC history in the late 1700s to the early 1800s and have remained untouched for years. However, decades later, controversy arose regarding the depiction of West Coast Indigenous Peoples, that in modern times, are considered degrading. In 2001, it was recommended that they be relocated to a museum where they could be displayed with a more historical perspective. But since they were painted on the walls themselves and their removal would cost a huge sum of money, the ultimate solution was to construct false walls to hide them from public view, but not before fully restoring them first. We all took turns looking at the false walls, which were strategically constructed to seamlessly blend with the real ones.
The tour lasted for 40 minutes and as we bade goodbye, our guide reminded us to come back after sunset so we could see the building illuminated at night. Approximately 3,500 colourful light bulbs line the building’s silhouette, meant to create the illusion of diamonds shining in the darkness. And before we left, he added his last bit of trivia. The lighting idea actually began all the way from 1897 when the building was first completed and when electricity was still a novelty.
We thanked him and headed down the stairs just past the front lawn that led to the causeway of the Inner Harbour.
Photo Credits:
tourismvictoria.com, leg.bc.ca, thestar.com
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