Province House (Nova Scotia)
| Province House | |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Palladian |
| Town or city | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Country | Canada |
| Construction started | 1811 |
| Opening | 1819 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John Merrick |
| Official name: Province House National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Designated: | 1993 |
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010) |
Province House is where the Nova Scotia Legislature, known officially as the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, has met every year since 1819. The building is Canada's oldest house of government. Standing three storeys tall, the structure is considered one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in North America.
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[edit] History
Province House was opened for the first time on February 11, 1819. One of the smallest functioning legislatures in North America, Province House originally housed the executive, legislative and judicial functions of the colony, all in one building.
During 1848, Province House was the site for the first form of responsible government in the British Empire outside the United Kingdom. The building is located in downtown Halifax on a block bordered by Hollis, Granville, George and Prince streets.
The Red Chamber was formerly the meeting place of the Legislative Council, the upper house of Nova Scotia's legislature. The Legislative Council was appointed by the governor and was abolished in 1928.[1] The Legislative Assembly is the home of the House of Assembly, Nova Scotia's elected legislature. The Legislative Library, located on the second floor between the Red Chamber and Legislative Assembly, was originally the home of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, until the court outgrew the space. The Supreme Court chamber was the site of Joseph Howe's 1835 trial for seditious libel.[2]
Province House was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996, in recognition of its status as the longest serving legislative building in Canada, and the role it played in the development of responsible government and freedom of the press in the country.[3]
[edit] The Court Yard
Province House is flanked with two prominent statues. To the north of Province House is a Memorial Statue by Hamilton MacCarthy to the Second Boer War. On one of the panels is a sculpture of the Battle of Witpoort, made famous by the death of Nova Scotian Harold Lothrop Borden. To the south of Province House is a statue to the Honourable Joseph Howe.
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ Nova Scotia House of Assembly, "Parliamentary Democracy in Nova Scotia". Communications Nova Scotia, 2009
- ^ Nova Scotia House of Assembly, "Province House". Nova Scotia House of Assembly, 1997
- ^ Province House National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
Coordinates: 44°38′52″N 63°34′24″W / 44.64791°N 63.573396°W
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