Peace Tower
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The Peace Tower is part of the Canadian Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. It is joined to the Centre Block, which contains the House of Commons and Senate chambers. The Peace Tower is the tallest and most prominent symbol of the Canadian Parliament Buildings. It replaced the 55-metre (180 foot) Victoria Tower, which burned down in the 1916 Parliament Hill fire. The current tower is 92.2 metres tall (300 feet).
Built to commemorate the end of the First World War, the foundation stone was laid by His Royal Highness Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in 1919, during his wider royal tour of Canada. The Tower contains the Books of Remembrance, listing all the Canadians who died in service of Canada or allied countries in foreign wars. The wars represented are: the Nile Expedition and Boer (South African) War, the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. The Newfoundland Book of Remembrance was added to the Memorial Chamber after Newfoundland entered Confederation in 1949. In 2005 a book was added with the names of all Canadians who lost their lives as a result of service in the Canadian Forces since 1947 (excluding deaths attributable to the Korean War). A book commemorating the Canadian merchant seamen who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars was unveiled in 1997 — these are the only non-military names found in the chamber. Pages are turned according to a perpetual calendar during a ceremony every day at 11 o'clock. The books are housed in the Memorial Chamber, a room originally built to chronicle the events of the First World War, which has been modified to represent a broad overview of Canadian armed conflict, both foreign and domestic, since Confederation in 1867.
The tower contains an observation gallery offering views of the city. Its clock, which was built by the Verdin Company of Ohio, is set by the National Research Council Time Signal and is equipped with a 53-bell carillon. The bells weigh from 4.5 kg to 10,160 kg (10 lb to 22,399 lb). The Dominion Carillonneur, Mr. Gordon Slater, offers regular recitals. The bell has tolled on many major occasions, including:
- When the body of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau arrived on Parliament Hill to lie in state, the bell tolled 81 times, one for each year of his life (Trudeau was 80 when he died; however, the bell tolled 81 times because he died just three weeks short of his 81st birthday).
- During the September 11, 2001 attacks memorial service in 2001 to signal the end of the 3 minutes of silence.
Like the entire interior and exterior of the building, the tower is decorated with stone carvings, including approximately 370 gargoyles, grotesques, and friezes.
Until the early 1970s, the Peace Tower dominated the Ottawa skyline as a strict 150-foot (45.7 m) height limit was placed on other buildings. That limit was later rescinded and it is no longer the tallest structure in the city, although from various angles it often appears to be the tallest structure because it sits on a hill.
On May 25, 2006, the clock atop the tower stopped for the first time in 28 years. It was inactive, displaying 7:28 for about one day, to the confusion of many Ottawans and visitors.[1]
An image of the Peace Tower is featured on the obverse of the Canadian fifty-dollar bill.
 A view from the top of the Peace Tower. In the distance is the Ottawa River, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the City of Gatineau, Quebec. |
 The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill |
 The Peace Tower at night |
 The Peace Tower from below |
 The Peace Tower viewed from the far left. |
 A close-up view of the Peace Tower Clock |
[edit] References
- ^ Time stands still on Parliament Hill CBC.ca. Retrieved on 25 May 2006.
