Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-04

~ about which public life in this city
revolves is Parliament Square. Or
| dinarily, the Parliament building is dgni-
| fed background for the legislative and gov
| eminent business of the Dominion. But
| right now, interest in the building itself is
| keen, for the new Parliament building is
nearing completion. By next year, it will
| be entirely finished, save for some of the de-
| tail carvings, which may keep workmen
| busy for 10 or II years longer.
1t was on the night of February 5, 1916,
you may remember, that the Canadian Par
| lament building burned. The catastrophe
was thought by many people to be the work
| OF an alien enemy, perhaps an employe in
the building. Investigations left the big fire
as much of mystery as the bomb explosion
| in Wall street has since become The par
| lament fire may have been an accident, but
| Ottawa. recalling the attempt on the capitol
| at Washington during the war, still sus-
poets incendiary motives.
| Congress was sitting in night session when
the fire broke out at 9 o'clock. The members
escaped just in time. The city water power
| was not sufficient to reach the top of the
tall central tower Of the building and it was
| Quilted. What was left of the great build
ing was so wrecked and water-logged that
attempts to renovate it were futile.
So Canada set out to rebuild and to raise
liner ed1flce over the ruins of the old one.
| The first parliament building which had
| stood since 1860 was regarded as one Of the
ID,
and the new one promises to be even more
| distinguished.
Except that it is three stories taller than
| before. the building from the exterior looks
| in general the same, both for sentiments
! sake, and because it must conform to the
east and west blocks-buildings on either
| side which correspond more or less to our
house and senate office buildings. 1t is,
| therefore, of cream colored sandstone, which
time darkens to rich, warm shade.
is thirfn6Ofh Eoth
IN style, with all the carvings, gargoyles,
arches, and angles that go with this cathe-
dral type of architecture.
| A Great Building
1t is in outline very long building with
| low towers at the corners and very tall
! tower and spire rising 800 feet in the middle
Ihls tower is to hold a carlton Of 40 bells
In 1t, too, is to be a war memorial room to
$4,000 Canadians who lost their lives in the
war. France, Belgium, and Great Britain
have sent stone to build this memorial room
The floor is black Belgian marble. The COL
umns of st. Anne's marble In tho
center on a dais is to be Doomsday Book in
scribed with the names of Canada's fighters
in the war, and in the floor will be a record
of the regiments.
The whole building is in many ways
war memorial. On the exterior for in
stance. there is an arch in the stone, decor
ated by carvings. Letters cut in the stone
spell Vimy Ridge recalling one of the big
Canadian victories. Vimy Ridge, Canadians
regard as the place where they gave the CON
t1dent Kaiser his first fright SO the carving
shows on one side of the arch typical Ger
man head cut in relief with the eyes blind
folded, representing the German people at
this time. Opposite is the head of the
kaiser with his mustache turned down and an
expression of dismay on his face And
above, the story is completed by carving
of very vicious looking goat-the kaiser's.
The carvings about the building are full
of interest. There are numberless heads
about the size of small cannon ball in the
ornamentation of arches, windows, and pill
lars. Some are weird grotesques, gryphons
and gargoyles. Others are human heads
One of the stone cutters is said to have i'm
mortaized his own features in one, and a
good many are caricatures of tie leading
statesmen of Canada. cabinet officer or
M. P. of Canada is represented by some dis
tinguishing feature, we recognize the
Roosevelt smile, and the Lodge whiskers So
these little stone heads are source of de-
light to Canadians who see their celebrities
in the stone: Laurier in the suggestion of
prominent nose, Borden in a curling mus
ia 2he.
The most important rooms of the building
are the meeting rooms for parliament. The
cathedral atmosphere Of the Gothic is strong