Library of Parliament

from CA$16.00

Frankincense - Bergamot - Patchouli - Cedarwood

100% soy wax candle with essential oils

You step through double doors into one of the most beautiful rooms that you have seen. Rows and rows of books fill the shelves of warm wood. Your footsteps echo through the quiet space as you walk across the hardwood floor to a desk in one of the alcoves. The red leather seat is comfortable as you sit down. You open a large, leather bound tome and begin to read. As the hours pass, the sunlight coming through the windows in the ceilings dims. You turn the last page and you take a look around the room as the last beams of sun fade across the room. You lean back, close your eyes, and take a deep breath, taking in this perfect space.

Size:

Frankincense - Bergamot - Patchouli - Cedarwood

100% soy wax candle with essential oils

You step through double doors into one of the most beautiful rooms that you have seen. Rows and rows of books fill the shelves of warm wood. Your footsteps echo through the quiet space as you walk across the hardwood floor to a desk in one of the alcoves. The red leather seat is comfortable as you sit down. You open a large, leather bound tome and begin to read. As the hours pass, the sunlight coming through the windows in the ceilings dims. You turn the last page and you take a look around the room as the last beams of sun fade across the room. You lean back, close your eyes, and take a deep breath, taking in this perfect space.

History

Designed by Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones, the building draws inspiration from the British Museum Reading Room and is structured as a chapter house, separated from the main Centre Block by a corridor. This design was developed with input from Alpheus Todd, the parliamentary librarian at the time.

Construction of the current library began in 1859, and although the collection arrived in Ottawa in 1866, work was interrupted in 1861, delaying completion until 1876. At that point, 47,000 volumes, including several donated by Queen Victoria, were installed.

Over the next fifty years, the library’s collection expanded significantly and was preserved during the 1916 fire that devastated much of the Centre Block. Thanks to the library’s connection to the main complex being limited to a single corridor, library clerk Michael MacCormac was able to secure the iron doors, preventing the fire from spreading.

Today, the library holds a collection of 650,000 items, encompassing centuries of history.