The
Saskatchewan Legislative Building occupies
a prominent site beside Lake Wascana in
the province's capital, Regina. The
Beaux-Arts building features a steel
structure clad in buff-coloured limestone
and is topped by a huge dome above a
colonnaded octagon.
The
"www.historicplaces.ca" website explains
that, "...The firm of
Peter Lyall and Sons of Montreal began
construction in 1908. In the spring of
1909, the premier decided to replace
the red brick exterior with buff
Tyndall limestone from Manitoba,
installed under the direction of
stonemasons trained in Britain.
Governor-General Earl Grey laid the
cornerstone during a vice-regal visit
in 1909 when the building was still
under construction. When construction
completed in 1912, energies were
focused on landscaping the surrounding
grounds. With its axial planning and
symmetry, various and fine details,
and its overall civic grandeur, the
Saskatchewan Legislative Building and
Grounds together form one of the best
examples in Canada of a well-preserved
landscape designed according to
Beaux-Arts and City Beautiful
principles."
