Construction, 1859-1916
- The Buildings
- The Cornerstone
- Construction
- The Expanding Country
- A Work of Art
- 20th Century Expansion
The Buildings
Moving the government to Ottawa was a major upheaval. For the first time, they had to build a legislature instead of moving into an existing building. There wasn't even a building big enough for a temporary legislature! Where to begin?
One problem was very easily solved, the government already owned the best site for the new buildings. Old Barrack Hill was the perfect spot, 25 acres of open, gently sloping land in the centre of town, with a magnificent view over the river. It was also very dramatic from the surrounding area, and this location would show off the building beautifully. The new parliament building would be visible for miles around.
But how big should the building be? Should there be one, two, even three buildings? Who would design it and where would they find the masons to build it? Perhaps most important, how much would it cost? It was the biggest construction project ever attempted by the government. No one really knew what they were getting themselves into. Public Works was also very concerned about the hazard of fire. The library of the legislature had already been destroyed twice this way, and they were determined that it wouldn't happen again.
The Cornerstone 
The Royal Tour of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1860 caused huge excitement wherever he went. He was a real ladies' man, and by all accounts won many hearts along the way. His entourage was followed closely by the press, who reported on the glittering balls and formal ceremonies in the Illustrated London News. The Prince arrived in Ottawa late in the summer of 1860 to lay the cornerstone of the new legislature.
Construction
Once the architects had been chosen, no time was lost in getting construction underway. Ground was broken on December 20, 1859. The old saying "Haste makes waste" was never more true. No one had taken the time to do any drilling on the site to find out what the rock was like underneath the thin layer of topsoil.
As it turned out, the workers hit bedrock very early and it became clear that they would have to blast out the bed for the foundation. Worse, the architects changed the design so the foundation would have to be 17 feet deeper than originally planned. This slowed the work, which was already behind because of winter conditions. Blasting was also much more expensive and costs began to climb.
The first stones were laid on April 16, 1860. The main type of stone used in all three buildings was Nepean sandstone, a warm ochre-coloured stone which was quarried locally. Other types were used to add colour to the design. Red sandstone from Potsdam, New York and grey Ohio freestone were used to accent windows and decorative details. Grey and green slates were used for the roofs.
The scale of the construction project under way in Ottawa in 1860 was mind-boggling. Nothing this big had ever been done in North America and it was large even by European standards. It is no exaggeration to say that Public Works and the architects were out of their depth.
The architects began to make changes to the designs which improved the appearance of the buildings, but also increased the cost. The clerks and managers were inexperienced and had no way of reining in the architects and controlling costs.
Early in 1861, Public Works reported that $1,424,882.55 — more than two-and-a-half times the original estimate — had been spent. In September the site was closed down and the partly finished walls were covered with tarpaulins to protect them from the weather. 1,300 men were thrown out of work. A commission of inquiry was formed in June, 1862 to find out what had gone wrong. The government was determined to solve the management problems and forge ahead.
In 1863, construction resumed. New contracts were signed with the architects and it seems that everyone had learned from their mistakes. Three years later, the first and only session of the parliament of the United Province of Canada sat in the new building. Since the project had begun, great changes had been brewing on the political scene.
The Expanding Country
On the 1st of July 1867, the Dominion of Canada was born with a federal government in Ottawa for Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The Fathers of Confederation decided that Ottawa would be the capital of the newly formed country. The parliament buildings weren't even finished before they were suddenly made the seat of government for a much larger area, one with great potential for growth!
Confederation was by no means complete in 1867. Sir John A. Macdonald had great plans for British North America. His government was courting the colony of British Columbia as well as Prince Edward Island. It followed that the vast territory between British Columbia (B.C.) and Ontario, Rupert's Land, would somehow be included.
This land had been granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, but times had changed, and in 1870 the fur trading company sold its land to Canada, beginning a rapid period of expansion.
Within four years, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, British Columbia, and the North West Territories (NWT) (now Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, NWT and Nunavut) had been added to the land governed from Ottawa. The buildings that some thought would have more room than the country would need for 200 years were less than 20 years old and they were too small!
Clerks and office staff were jammed into the stuffy attics of the East and West Blocks with no windows. To relieve the pressure, dormer windows were made in the roofs of both buildings but it was only temporary.
More offices were needed as the country grew. More MPs were coming to Ottawa and larger departments were needed to meet the needs of a growing population.Before the Library had been completed or the grounds landscaped, an addition was made to the West Block.
When the Post Office, Department of Agriculture, Department of Indian Affairs and the Patent Office needed more room, Public Works considered another addition to the West Block. Parliament decided instead to build a modern office building across the street from Parliament Hill, rather than risk ruining the old building and spending too much money. It took the pressure off, but not for long.
Local businessmen were quick to see an opportunity to profit from the shortage of office space and many new buildings were erected in the city. Gradually more and more departments rented offices off Parliament Hill.
A Work of Art
In 1876, the Library was finally completed, as well as the landscaped grounds. Late in the year the magnificent iron Queen's Gates, forged by Ives & Co. of Montreal, were hung on the main entrance in the Wellington Street Wall. At long last, Parliament Hill was cleared of construction fences, scaffolding and workmen. The young country, not yet ten years old, had a seat of government to rival any in the world for beauty and grandeur.
The group of buildings was one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the Empire. They were placed around a formal lawn with the Centre Block slightly higher than the two side buildings. The great Victoria Tower of the Centre Block was the focal point and dominated the site. Although the East and West Blocks were not identical, in the Gothic tradition they were carefully balanced. The formal side of the buildings were dignified and stately creating an image of ceremony and order.
The back of the buildings was another story. Here the architects shaped the walls to the edge of the escarpment, advancing and receding almost as though they were actually a part of the cliff. The many different parts of the buildings, like stacked blocks, create an interesting contrast of light and shadow with intricate carved surprises hidden like forest animals among the rocks. The outline of the buildings, when seen from behind or below the cliff, seem to carry the slope higher into the sky until it breaks apart into the towers and finials of the roof, finally to disappear altogether in the glittering gold lace of iron.
All of the buildings were built of the same three colours of stone, worked into wonderful details of carved mouldings, foliage, real and imagined animals and plants, as well as emblems of the French, English, Irish and Scottish settlers who were, at the time, the most prominent groups in the population. From every nook and cranny the faces of little figures peer down. Some of them are rumoured to belong to workmen, politicians, the architects and others.
The colourful patterns in stone created a very lively appearance. The many shapes and sizes of pointed windows in different groupings, towers, turrets, finials and grotesques added to the effect. The original roof was grey slate, with patterns of green. All around the tops of the roofs was intricate iron cresting, painted china blue and gilded at the tips. On a fine summer day the effect would be magical.
Providing a proper setting for the new buildings was so important that the Governor General, Lord Dufferin, took a personal interest in getting it right. He suggested that the Chief Architect, Thomas Scott, go to New York to see Central Park. Urban parks were becoming all the rage. They offered stressed-out office or factory workers and apartment bound children a chance to experience nature and take a break from the hectic pace of city life. One of the best parks then and still today, was Central Park, designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Scott toured the park with Calvert Vaux, Olmsted's partner, who also drew up a plan for terraces, driveways and a fountain for the lawn of Parliament Hill.
When Scott returned to Ottawa, he set to work laying out the grounds using what he had learned in New York. Vaux's terrace walls were designed to give the Centre Block more presence by creating an elegant base and sweeping approach driveways. At each side, a massive flag base and staircase framed the main building. The one problem in Vaux's plan was the fountain at the foot of the centre staircase. Thomas Fuller complained that the fountain was a distraction and ought to be removed. When he became Chief Architect in the 1880s, one of his first projects was the removal of the fountain.
Scott had learned that a well planned park would offer people many different experiences. Vaux's lawn was formal and structured. Behind the buildings, Scott created a more relaxed area for strolling, admiring the view and enjoying the exotic floral displays created by skilled gardeners. These Pleasure Grounds had benches, a charming summer pavilion and commemorative statues of Canadian statesmen. This was Nature, tamed and improved by Man.
For untamed Nature, the public could follow a pathway cut into the face of the escarpment along an old raftsmen's trail. This feature was first created in the 1860s and had always been popular. It was a perfect fit into Scott's park. He built stairways from the Pleasure Grounds, look-out platforms, washrooms and water fountains for the convenience of the public. Known as Lovers' Walk, it was a welcome escape from the city streets into the cool shade. "A more charming stroll for man or maid, lover or misanthrope, could not be wished for … shut off from the city life and embowered in trees".
20th Century Expansion
In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan became the 8th and 9th provinces, triggering yet another burst of construction on the Hill. From 1906-1914, additions were made to all three buildings.
The growing need for office space was intensified by the new provinces but it had never really let up. While it was growing in size, the country was also becoming aware and proud of its history, culture and achievements. From 1900 to 1913 the Royal Canadian Mint, the Public Archives and the National Museum all moved into new buildings. Parliament Hill was still the centrepiece of the government in Ottawa, but these and other buildings, all designed in a distinctive style, had begun to transform the character of Ottawa. The influence of Parliament Hill had begun to stretch beyond the boundary wall.
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