Alberta Legislature Building, Edmonton (must see)

The Alberta Legislature Building is located in Edmonton and is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly and the Executive Council. It was built between 1907 and 1913 in the Beaux Arts style by architects Allan Merrick Jeffers and Richard Blakey. Allan Merrick Jeffers served as the Alberta Provincial Architect from September 1907 to 1910. The Alberta Archives hold drawings for virtually all provincial buildings executed under his supervision.

The use of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian architectural influences was considered appropriate for a public building, as they suggested power, permanence, and tradition. Beaux-Arts buildings are characterized by a large central dome above a spacious rotunda, a symmetrical T-shaped plan, doors and windows decorated with arches or lintels, and a portico supported by massive columns. The building is supported on concrete piles and constructed around a steel skeleton. The first floor is faced with Vancouver Island granite; upper floors feature sandstone from the Glenbow Quarry in Calgary. The interior fittings include imported marble, mahogany, oak, and brass.