Like other seats of provincial parliament, the Beaux-Arts grandeur of the Alberta Legislature elicits a sense of power, tradition and permanence. Positioned on elevated lands overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, the building took six years to build, completed in 1913 with a design by architects Allan Merrick Jeffers and Richard Blakey. 

The Alberta Legislative Building under construction, image via University of Alberta Libraries

Defined by its front portico, central dome and rotunda — and conforming to a T-shaped plan — the structure bears some noticeable similarities to the Rhode Island State House, which was finished three years prior to construction, and was also where Jeffers studied. Terracotta on the dome was manufactured in Tamworth, Staffordshire, United Kingdom by Gibbs and Canning.

House of Parliament after completion, image via University of Alberta Libraries

The interior is just as stately as the exterior, with a rotunda characterized by a large circular marble fountain surrounded by marble columns. A grand staircase leads to the three-storey Assembly Chamber, which has its own 55-metre-tall dome implanted with stained glass skylights. "The Leg" offers visitors free guided tours of the complex, so architecture and politics enthusiasts alike can explore the facility.

Alberta Legislature in 2014, image by Flickr user IndustrialAndrew via Creative Commons

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