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Spotlight: The Pink Palace of Queen’s Park

The Ontario Legislative Building, the seventh structure to serve the parliament of Ontario, survived another turn of the decade last week. The “Pink Palace”, first completed in 1893, has sat at the core of Toronto for 120 years, boldly occupying the territory of Queen’s Park. Although the land is owned by the University of Toronto, on account of a $1-per-annum term expected to expire in 2892, parliament holds the right to use the property for non-educational purposes. Today, the Ontario Legislative Building houses the verceregal suite of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the offices of current MPPs. Undoubtedly, the Pink Palace is an important historical location and is a vital component of Ontario’s provincial parliament system.

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The History of the Pink Palace

During Confederation, Toronto was elected to become the capital of newly-formed Ontario; and as a result, legislature relocated back to Front Street, where the House of Assemble for the Province of Canada once sat and burned. It wasn’t until after 1880, however, that plans were made to develop a new provincial building. By 1885, the project was approved under the architectural command of Richard A. Waite at a budget of $750,000. Eight years later, the building opened its doors for the first time.

In 1909, despite having gone over budget by half a million dollars, decisions were made to extend the existing parliament building. The north wing addition, contracted to George Wallace Gouinlock, enclosed the courtyard, adding to the openness of the building’s interior design. Unfortunately, during the construction a fire ignited, destroying much of the central interior, including the library. Three years later, in 1912, renovations were completed and the new wing opened. Over the years the Pink Palace has undergone many transformations — such as the Whitney, Macdonald, Hepburn, Mowat, and Hearst Blocks — but the structure’s integrity remains intact. Other legislative sites prior to the construction of the Pink Palace have mostly been demolished, leaving the Ontario Legislative Building as one of the most significant landmarks in Ontario.

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A Richardsonian Romanesque Style

Generally speaking, the building consists of five-storeys, asymmetrically designed, sturdily built with a dense iron frame. Due to the fact the sandstone exterior was made by materials from Orangeville and Credit Valley, the bricks contain a pink-hue — hence the name “Pink Palace”. The layout first drafted in 1886 passed through several changes before all was said and done. For instance, the west domed tower had initially been designed to display a large clock, but was instead fitted with a large rose window when funds for the clock’s construction did not come through.

The west wing originally included three stories under a pyramid-shaped roof, but as a consequence of the fire, the wing was remodelled with an extra floor bearing wall dormer windows and a long gabled roof. In contrast to the rest of the building, the Whitney Block expansion, built on the east, used Niagara Escarpment limestone and was linked by tunnel to Queen’s Park Station. Additional ad-ons in later years stretched the building to Bay Street. Despite the influence of different generations on the architecture, the Pink Palace is still a strong example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, decorated with extensive trees to the south and embellished with stone carvings throughout the property.

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