British Columbia Parliament Buildings

Where the Parliament Buildings are not situated in Vancouver, BC, they do reside close by on Vancouver Island, in beautiful Victoria, BC. The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are an integral part of the British Legacy, and for this reason should not be left out! They were built after the wooden Legislative Hall, termed the "Birdcages" were no longer structurally safe to house legislative representatives.

The Parliament Buildings are where members of the BC Government gather to make crucial decisions and pass laws for the province. Construction began of the buildings in 1893 by a British architect/immigrant named Francis Rattenbury, and completed in 1897. The Parliament Buildings run along Belleville Street in Victoria's downtown Inner Harbour, and are particularly unique due to the means in which they were built. All local materials and resources were used to construct the buildings, as it was important to the government to support local businesses during this critical time in BC. Where structural upkeep has been conducted in the last several decades, very little detail has been changed in the design of these buildings

The Parliament Buildings are 500 ft tall, composed of two tiers, waterfront walkways, garden sculptures, a marble dome, and have become a necessary tourist attraction when travellers visit the beautiful city. The buildings also light up with thousands of lights during nightfall. The success and beauty of the buildings led to more innovations and designs by Rattenbury, including the Legislative Library and Crystal Gardens in Victoria, as well as the Vancouver Art Gallery, a stunning building residing in downtown Vancouver.