Snapshots in History: February 3: Remembering the 1916 Parliament Hill Fire
On February 3 and beyond, take a moment to remember the fire and destruction of Canada’s Centre Block Parliament Building in the City of Ottawa on February 3, 1916, save the Parliamentary Library which survives to this day. The fire in the Centre Block was reported at 8:37 p.m. and spread quickly. The saving of the Parliamentary Library has become a piece of Canadian historical folklore. Librarian Alpheus Todd showed prescience by insisting on the library having iron-made fire doors, and library clerk Connie MacCormac insisted that the iron fire doors be closed before the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings was evacuated.
Speculation was rampant about whether the fire had been deliberately set given that the First World War was ongoing at the time. A man in the reading room in the northwest corner of the Centre Block noticed smoke emanating from something in a garbage basket. A staff member was alerted but the fire spread with rapidity. Then-Prime Minister Borden escaped from his office by crawling on his hands and knees in a smoke-filled corridor. Firefighters had to contend with a cold night in fighting the fire. The large bell in the Victoria Tower crashed to the ground after midnight. The burned Centre Block became encased in ice due to the cold temperature. View images of the fire, the firefighters, and the aftermath here.
Construction of the new Centre Block began almost immediately, while Canada’s Parliament temporarily relocated to what is now the Canadian Museum of Nature. The first sitting of Parliament in the new Centre Block took place on January 26, 1920. The replacement for the Victoria Tower, the Peace Tower, was completed in 1927 as a commemoration of Canadians who lost their lives in conduct of the First World War.
Consider the following titles for borrowing from Toronto Public Library collections:
Fire on Parliament Hill! / Jane Varkaris and Lucile Finsten, 1988. Book.
This book specifically deals with the 1916 Centre Block fire on Parliament Hill in the City of Ottawa.
Jewel on the Hill: the story of Canada’s Parliament buildings [1 videodisc] / Neil Bregman and André R. Lavoie; Sound Venture Productions, 2000. DVD.
Learn about the architectural splendor and history as well as the political history associated with Canada’s Parliament Buildings.
If you are interested in the history of Canada’s Parliament Buildings, consider these titles as well:
Books:
eBooks:
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