Donna M.
Yelp
There are 3 tours a day ~ be sure to check the schedule.
The most important historical site in Québec City, the Parliament Building is an imposing structure comprising four wings that form a square of about 330' per side.
One of the few buildings in North America whose architecture is Second Empire style.
The tour of the Parliament Building includes the National Assembly Chamber (where the members of provincial parliament sit) with its Renaissance architecture and the Legislative Council Chamber (standing committees have been held here since 1968).
Around 1875 Quebec City underwent a series of beautification projects sponsored by Lord Dufferin, Canada's 3rd governor general. Taking its cue from Dufferin, the province's Conservative government led by Premier Charles Boucher de Boucherville decided to build the capital's first major "edifice" ~ the Parliament Building.
Instead of turning to more well-known architects like François-Xavier Berlinguet or Charles Baillairgé, the premier opted to hire Eugène-Étienne Taché to draw up the plans. The plans Taché presented were a clear reflection of the desire to achieve political stability and establish a lasting democracy.
From the very outset in 1875, the plans called for a number of architectural elements to reflect the motto that would be carved above the building's main entrance --"Je me souviens"--and would eventually become Quebec's official motto in 1939.
Eugène-Étienne Taché was keenly aware of the importance attached to the project, and instead of adopting the emerging style of American modernism, he opted for the classical, neo-Renaissance (Second Empire) architecture in vogue in France at the time. He was also inspired by the Parliament Building in Ottawa, built between 1859 and 1866.
Quebec's Parliament Building was inaugurated on June 17, 1884, with the laying of the portico cornerstone.
The Parliament Building houses the National Assembly Chamber, long known as the Green Room, and the Legislative Council Chamber or Red Room, the ancestor of the senate.
With the introduction of televised debates at the National Assembly in 1978, the walls of the Green Room were repainted blue ~ hence its current nickname, the "Blue Room."
