BC Legislative Buildings

Fakten

• The gilded statue on top of the dome of Captain George Vancouver, the first European to sail around Vancouver Island, is seven feet high.
• The construction budget was $600,000 in 1892 yet over $40 million was spent to restore the buildings in 1973.
• Phase two was completed in 1915 at a cost of $1.2 million.
• King George V praised the buildings on his visit in 1901.
• Although completed in 1897, the Parliament Buildings did not officially open until February 10, 1898 in order to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
• Occupies the same site as the original government buildings, built for the Colony of Vancouver Island, in 1859.
• Architect Francis M. Rattenbury was only 25 years old when he designed the Parliament Buildings.
• At night over 3,300 light bulbs are switched on.
• The exterior light bulbs were turned on in June 1897 and did not require replacement until 1976.
• The architect also designed the Fairmont Empress Hotel just a few blocks away.
• The building that housed the original Legislative Assembly was moved to a new location on the Legislature’s lawn and remained in use by the Provincial Bureau of Mines until it was destroyed by fire in March 1957.
• $75,000 was allotted to the Department of Public Works in March 1892 for the costs associated with managing a design contest to select the architect.
• In 1901, King George V praised British Columbia’s Legislative Buildings as one of the finest examples of architecture in the Dominion.
• 65 architects from across North America submitted designs for judging.