Manitoba Legislative Building - History and Construction

History and Construction

In 1911, the Manitoba government announced an architectural competition to all architects in the British Empire. A grand prize of $10,000 was offered for the best design for the new Manitoba Legislative Building. It is the third building used by Manitoba's legislative assembly, the first being the home of A.G.B. Bannatyne, while the second stood on the same grounds as the current Legislative building. Of the 67 submissions, Frank Worthington Simon, a former student at the École des Beaux-Arts, had his design chosen for the construction of the impressive structure.

Construction began in 1913, with Tyndall stone, quarried at Garson, about 20 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. On June 3, 1914 the north-east cornerstone ceremony, which was commonly done by masons, was laid by Thomas Kelly, the contractor. Kelly stole many of the materials to build his own house three blocks away, so the construction of the massive building was slowed and was not ready for partial occupancy until 1919. On July 15, 1920, the province's 50th anniversary date, opening ceremonies were performed by Sir James Aikins, then Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba.

The base of the building forms the letter H. The total square footage of the building is 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2), with a total height of 242 feet (74 m) above ground level toped with a bronze statue, gilded with 23.75 k gold leaf, of the Greek God Hermes or the Roman God Mercury. The Legislative grounds cover 30 acres (120,000 m2) of landscaped grounds. Throughout the exterior and interior of the building are examples of Fibonacci Sequence, Golden Ratio and Sacred Geometry.