Library of Parliament

In my humble opinion the Library of Parliament in Ottawa must be one of the most beautiful rooms in the world.  I was thrilled when we finally got in to see it.  It's the beautiful natural woodwork that appeals to me, so if your preference is for art, stone, or statues, you may feel differently.  But you can't avoid seeing how beautiful this room is.

It was one time I wished I had a wide angle lens, but these two photos showing the left and right sides of the room will have to do.  That's Queen Victoria standing in the very centre of the room.  It's a completely circular room, said to be modelled after the Reading Room of the British Museum, but that room doesn't come close in terms of the natural pine woodwork.  The atmosphere was just stunning.

On the outside, as I already showed you, it's a wondrous piece of High Victorian Gothic architecture, best viewed from across the river, or from the water if you take the boat.  Finished by 1876, it was the only part of the original Parliament to survive the devastating fire of 1916, when a quick thinking Librarian closed the iron doors that linked it to the rest of the building.

This picture, on display inside the library, shows the complete devastation of the rest of the building, but the library still standing.  It also survived a tornado in 1888, though all the slate shingles were torn off.

But it's the woodwork inside that inspired me, three floors of library space, all built in pine, with beautiful carvings.  Even the shelves, the railings, and all the other features were beautiful.

As tourists we only got to stand inside the door and look, and it was a Sunday, so it wasn't busy.  But what an experience it would be to actually go into the stacks and wander around.  It has had a complete modern renovation that included proper climate control, fire sprinkler systems, and repairs to the structure, inside and out.

There's a wide variety of carvings, including flowers, creatures, and coats of arms of the provines that existed in 1876. All of this has been cleaned and restored where needed.

The library itself is an octopus of an organization, reaching out from this main parliamentary branch.  Three hundred staff do research on a wide variety of questions, not just for Members of Parliament, but for government staff, and there are several branch libraries in different government departments.

 From the domed ceiling to the parquet floors in cherry, oak and walnut, it's an architectural masterpiece.

We did poke our heads into the Parliamentary Chamber, where our elected politicians argue and bicker, heckle, and occasionally approve important policies.  This is the room from which the country is governed, and in spite of my slight cynicism about politicians, has generally been well governed for 150 years next year!

We also saw the Senate Chamber, often known as the 'Red Chamber'.  At its best our Senate provides a 'sober second thought' before legislation is passed, a role quite different from the U.S. Senate.  In fact the two-part Parliamentary system of democracy we have is quite different overall from the three-part U.S. approach, where the President is a separate office.  In Canada, the Prime Minister is head of the elected party that gains the most votes.

After all these years, I was very glad to see inside the Parliament, especially that library, a room I won't forget!