Canadian Museum of Nature
The Canadian Museum of Nature (French: Musée canadien de la nature) is a natural history museum in Ottawa, Canada. Its collections, which were started by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1856 include all aspects of the intersection of human society and nature, from gardening to gene-splicing.
The building
The museum is located in the Victoria Memorial Museum Building, built in former farm fields in 1905.
This massive stone structure is an excellent example of early 20th century architecture in Ottawa, and was built by architect David Ewart who is responsible for many similar structures around the city. The construction of the building involved the importing of skilled stone masons from Scotland. The architectural style is sometimes described as 'Scottish baronial.'
The design was intended as a sort of 'end piece' to complement the stone structure of the Canadian Parliament Buildings at the opposite end of Metcalfe Street, on Parliament Hill. Unfortunately, because of the presence of unstable Leda clay in the geology of the site, a tall tower that was situated at the front of the building had to be taken down in 1915 due to settling and the concern that the foundation could not support the weight.
The building found itself filling a more auspicious role than originally intended when in 1916, fire consumed the majority of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill. The recently completed Victoria Museum Building became the temporary home of the House of Commons, and the affairs of the government were run from the site until the completion of the new Parliament building in 1922.
In 1968, the National Museum that occupied the building was split into the National Museum of Nature (eventually renamed the Canadian Museum of Nature) and the National Museum of Man (eventually renamed the Canadian Museum of Civilization), although both entities continued to share the same edifice. In 1989, the Canadian Museum of Civilization moved to a new location in Gatineau, Quebec, and the Canadian Museum of Nature was able to occupy the entire Victoria Memorial Museum Building.
A major renovation of all parts of the building, which began in 2004, is expected to be completed in 2009, including a lighter-weight glass "lantern" taking the place of the former tower. The renovation plan exemplifies the difficulty of determining what building features to preserve in old buildings, as the installation of the modern lantern (meant to evoke the pre-1915 history of the building) necessitates the demolition of the historical mezzanine over the main entrance (home to distinctive double staircases).