Peace Tower
45°25′30″N 75°42′00″W / 45.4249°N 75.6999°W
The Peace Tower is the focal clock tower, sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the 55 m (180 ft) Victoria Tower after the latter burned down in 1916, along with most of the Centre Block. It today serves as a Canadian icon, and appears on the obverse of both the Canadian fifty-dollar and twenty-dollar bills.
Characteristics
Designed by Jean Omer Marchand and John A. Pearson, the tower's height reaches 92.2 metres (300 ft),[1] over which are arranged a multitude of stone carvings, including approximately 370 gargoyles, grotesques, and friezes, keeping with the Victorian High Gothic style of the rest of the parliamentary complex.
At its base is a porte-cochere within four equilateral pointed arches, the north of which frames the main entrance of the Centre Block, and the jambs of the south adorned by the supporters of the Royal coat of arms of Canada. Near the apex, just below the copper clad, steeply pitched roof, are the tower's clock faces, one on each of the four facades. The mechanical workings of the timepiece were manufactured by the Verdin Company, and are set by the National Research Council Time Signal. Accompanying the clock is a 53-bell carillon, with bells weiging from 4.5 kg to 10,160 kg (10 lbs to 23,399 lbs),[1] and which are used by the Dominion Carillonneur for regular recitals, as well as to toll to mark major occasions such as state funerals and Remembrance Day.
One level below the clock and carillon, running around the circumfrence of the tower's shaft, is an observation deck.[1] This was the highest accessible space in Ottawa until the early 1970s; the Peace Tower dominated the Ottawa skyline, as a strict 45.7 m (150 ft) height limit was placed on other buildings. That limit, however, was later rescinded, leading the Peace Tower to lose its distinction as the city's tallest structure.
The tower also contains the Books of Remembrance,[1] which are housed in the Memorial Chamber, a room above the porte-cochere originally built to chronicle the events of the First World War, and which was later modified to represent a broad overview of Canadian armed conflict, both foreign and domestic, since Confederation in 1867. The books list all Canadian soldiers, airmen, and seamen who died in service of the Crown– whether the British (before 1931) or the Canadian (after 1931)– or allied countries in foreign wars, including the Nile Expedition and Boer War, the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War.
History
immediately after the destruction of the parliament buildings, the Peace Tower's completion coinceided with the end of the First World War, its foundation stone being laid by Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in 1919, during his wider royal tour of Canada, and was topped out in 1922.
On May 24, 2006, the clock atop the tower stopped for the first time in 28 years. It was inactive, displaying 7:28 for about one day, to the confusion of many Ottawans and visitors.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d "Ottawakiosk.com > Ottawa > Arts & Entertainment > Attractions > Parliament Hill Tour". Ottawa Kiosk. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
- ^ "Time stands still on Parliament Hill [[CBC.ca]]". Retrieved 25 May.
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External links
- Parliament Hill History
- Books of Remembrance Online
- Parliament Hill Hillcam
- Parliament Hill Website
- Peace Tower Carillon
| Parliament of Canada |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Centre Block | ||
| Monuments | ||
| Parliamentary Precinct | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||