HORG==> Tour ==> BC's Legislature

INFORMATION Tour Home Contact Us Copyright © 2000 History of Racialisation Group Victoria, BC CANADA All rights reserved This page last updated 20 July 2000 Contact the Page Maintainer Hosted by the University of Victoria This site looks best with	Imperial Paradise? An Alternative Walking Tour of Victoria, BC British Columbia's Legislative Buildings
	The provincial Legislative Buildings, an architectural relic of Victoria’s past, remain a commanding presence today, more than a hundred years after their construction. Located at the southern end of the city’s Inner Harbour area, no visitor to the downtown can escape them. Their imposing limestone-and-granite walls and copper roofs are tangible expressions of the state’s power. When they were first opened to the public in 1897, as part of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, they were the tallest built structure north of San Francisco, and the first in Canada to have electric lights.
	The green lawns and extensive grounds reflect the royal gardens of London, England - and require casual viewers to keep a reverential distance from the ‘centre’ of power. The successful entry in an Empire-wide building contest, Francis Rattenbury’s design employs all manner of architectural reminders of British Columbia’s ties to England and Europe. It was his aim, he said publicly, to erect an "imperial garden of Eden"¹ in Victoria, the western-most colony-cum-province in the Realm. The facade includes neo-classical references to Greek gods and goddesses and powerful mythical creatures (gargoyles and griffins), making room on either side of the large ceremonial entrance for statues of Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie and Governor James Douglas in the same style. Standing in gold-gilt atop the largest dome is Captain George Vancouver - the British ‘discoverer’ of Vancouver Island. Closer to the ground is a larger-than-life likeness of Queen Victoria, complete with the symbols of Empire - her crown and sceptre featured prominently - and built to last "a thousand years." Beneath the largest of the neo-Romanesque archways are the imposing steps to the ceremonial stained-glass doors, guarded by over-sized iron gates and opened to this day only by the Queen or the royal representative to British Columbia, the Lieutenant-Governor. Ordinary mortals, the Premier included, enter through the wooden doors to the left. The building’s interior is also grandiose and imperial in design. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you decide to tour inside (buildings open Monday to Friday, 8.30 am - 4.30 pm; free guided tours start hourly):


	1. As quoted in Robin Ward, Echoes of Empire: Victoria & Its Remarkable Buildings (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour, 1996): 4.

INFORMATION