Day: October 6, 2019

August 22, 2019

I can save lots of time and condense several of the other buildings of the Parliament complex in this one post.

EAST BLOCK

This building, seen to the right when looking at Centre Block from the front of the complex, was undergoing major repair and renovation so I didn’t take too many photos.

This is the back as seen from Major’s Hill Park:

This is the main view as seen from the plaza in front of the Parliament complex:

 

 

CONFEDERATION BUILDING

This building, as well as the next two, are located further to the southwest from West Block along Wellington Street.

There was a PPS security vehicle near the rear of this building on Thursday when I was in town.  Shortly after I took this photo a motorcade approached the complex from the center of town.  There would be another motorcade through town later in the day.  At some point during the day the mayor of Montreal appeared at the Parliament complex to accept a large “check” from the Prime Minister to establish a new museum in that city.  I don’t know what effect, if any, that visit might have had on Parliament tours during the day.

JUSTICE BUILDING

Further southwest on Wellington Street from the Confederation Building is the Justice Building:

And near the Justice Building, but not shown on the Parliament complex map, is the Supreme Court building:

 

August 22, 2019

This building is located to the left of Centre Block as viewed from the front of the Parliament complex.  Because it is closer to the main street I took advantage of the proximity to take lots of closeups of this incredibly ornate building.

The first photo below is angled slightly from front to back and the second is angled slightly from back to front and shows more of the back of the building.

 

The following photos are around the left side of the building as viewed from the street, looking towards the back of the building:

August 22, 2019

This building is hidden from view when looking at the Parliament complex from the front which is a shame because it is a very attractive structure.  It is partially visible at the right side of the Peace Tower in the first photo of the Centre Block post below.  The first photo in this post was actually on another Library building in another part of the city.  The rest of these photos were taken from Major’s Hill Park and the building also appears in some of the photos in the previous “Overview” post.

August 22, 2019

Centre Block is the largest and most imposing building in the Parliament complex.

Centered in the sidewalk way out by the street is the Eternal Flame:

All of the buildings in the Parliament complex are incredibly ornate.  The tallest portion of the Centre Block building is called the Peace Tower and is visible from all over the city:

The lower portions of the building were undergoing some repairs and there were trucks, trailers and equipment scattered about.  Here is the left side of the lower portion of the building.  I didn’t even bother with the right side as there was more clutter over there.

Out by Wellington Street were several large, ornate gates:

And in these days of heightened security there were several vehicles scattered around the property with officers keeping a watchful eye on the goings on. The Parliamentary Protective Service is hybrid of the US Park Police and US Secret Service which protects both property and politicians.

And of course the Royal Canadian Mounted Police don’t want to be left out of the loop.

I’m sure there were lots of other “eyes” watching, too, so needless to say I was properly attired and displayed only my best behavior.

The public may tour the Parliament complex but I did not even attempt to do that.  My Airbnb hostess told me that only a limited number of tickets are made available based on events scheduled at the facility and they are only issued at the Visitor Information Center located across the street from Centre Block.  Tickets are not issued in advance and are only available by waiting at the Visitor Center the morning of the day you hope to gain access.  I will probably try to get on a tour next year when I go back to Canada to revisit my favorite venues.  I also plan to allow several days to go in many of the museums, not only in Ottawa but in other places as well.  I was very lucky with weather this year and now that I’ve seen the “sights” I really need to take a look at many of the museums both here and in more of the places I visit in the future.