The
seat of government for the prairie province of Manitoba,
this impressive building is just outside of downtown
Winnipeg on the Assiniboine River. It is the third
legislative building, and was constructed 50 years
after Manitoba joined the Canadian confederation.
It boasts 30 acres of lawns and formal gardens with
scattered statues of the people who made that event
possible. In addition, there is a totem pole donated
by British Columbia on the occasion of that province's
50th anniversary. The building itself is made from
Manitoba Tyndall limestone from the town of Garson.
The stone has traces of fossils in it from the time
this area was a tropical sea. The layout is an H shape,
and the architectural details are Beaux-Arts style.
Above the entrance, the pediment displays six figures
symbolic of Canada:
- A
ship's wheel symbolizing the Atlantic Ocean.
- A
half-kneeling man symbolizing progress.
- A
female figure symbolizing Manitoba.
- The
goddess Europa leading a bull, symbolizing Canada's
European heritage.
- A
man, woman and child symbolizing the colonization
of a new land.
-
A hand holding Neptune's trident, symbolizing the
Pacific Ocean.
There
are also symbols adorning the building that represent
the Red River, the Assiniboine River, a pair of sphinxes,
farmers planting, farmers harvesting, symbols of agriculture,
art, science, industry, war, and peace. Like so many
government buildings, this one sports an impressive
central dome. The floor of the dome's rotunda is made
from Tennessee marble, Black Vermont marble, and Verd
Antique marble in the design of a Grecian key -- symbol
of the search for knowledge. The dome is 240-feet
high and supports the building's only lifelong resident
-- the Golden Boy. While the Legislative Building
may be full of politicians, leaders, movers and shakers,
it's most beloved resident is the Golden Boy. Holding
a torch on top of the Legislative dome, he has become
one of the best known symbols of the province. This
bronze statue is 13 and a half feet tall, and covered
with 23 ½ carat gold. He is the work of French sculptor
Georges Gardet, but spent many of his early years
crisscrossing the Atlantic in the hold of a troop
ship.
-
The same sculptor that made the Golden Boy is also
responsible for the two life-sized bison flanking
the grand staircase.
- Each
bison weighs 2,268 kilograms.
- Legend
has it that the area at the base of the grand staircase
was flooded and frozen, and the bison sculptures
slid in on rafts of ice in order to keep from scratching
the floor.
-
The grand staircase is arranged in three flights
of 13 steps made from Carrara marble. There are
also 13 light bulbs in the lamps that light the
rotunda, and a number of other instances where 13
were used in the construction.
-
The desks in the legislative chamber still have
their original inkwells.
