November 15, 2018sarahylockwood

Library of Parliament – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Over this past weekend Luke and I took a three day weekend up to Ottawa and Montreal. As several of our trips had fallen through recently with wildfires closing Yosemite, canceling our Half Dome hike and a new job changing our American southwest journey I was bursting at the seams to go on a new adventure. Knowing we had a three day weekend, we decided to fit in a trip to the Canadian capital, especially as their Library of Parliament had been on my library bucket list for a quite a while now.  To access the Library of Parliament the public is able to go on free guided tours throughout the Centre Block, where not only will you get to glimpse this remarkable library but also be taken on a tour the center of Canadian government such as the Commons and Senate rooms.  Prior to our trip I’d read that the Centre Building would soon be closed for renovations, however we were surprised to learn that as soon as January the building would be closed for 10-15 years while they update the interior.  I’m not sure if the closure includes the library, but Luke and I were both thankful that we had not missed the cutoff for a tour of the old building.  In 1916 the original building on this site burned but somehow the library survived as some very quick thinking individuals closed two iron doors.  The accounts of that devastating fire really bring into sharp focus what a miracle it was that the library was saved for us to enjoy today.  We delighted in all the small details throughout this library and I hope you do too as you peruse a few of the photos I took during our short allotted time in this stunning room.

 

27 comments

  2. Hi Sarah, The pictures are Fab – it reminds me of the Library in Trinity College Dublin, is that on your “Bucket List”?.

    I’d love a hike up Half Dome too. We were in Yosemite about 5 years ago, defo due a return visit. Also a friend of mine has just relocated to California with her partner who lives about 30 minutes from the park… Her pictures are stunning.

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  6. Reblogged this on John's Notes and commented:
    Libraries – I always like visiting unusual libraries. When I saw this post covering the Library of Parliament library in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada I had to share it.

    Needless to say it is now on my list of libraries to visit one day.

    Liked by 1 person

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  15. […] The Critiquing Chemist also hit the mind blowing statistic of surpassing 4,000 followers! The support I’ve encountered within my blogging family has been so uplifting ever since I started this blogging journey. To celebrate this milestone I compiled a list highlighting 150 of the Most Beautiful Libraries in the World. Over the past year I was geeked to be able to check off three of the libraries on the list, i.e., The Last Bookstore University of Michigan Law Library and Canada’s Library of Parliament. […]

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