Manitoba Legislative Building, Winnipeg

We enjoyed another packed day of Open Doors events and tours in Winnipeg - the Manitoba Legislative Building, Vaughan Street Jail, Jazz on the Lawn and Dalnavert Museum.  

The tour of the Legislative Building (parliament) gave us an insight into the Province's political system as well as a peek inside the grand structure. The 1920 building is topped with 'the boy', a gold coloured bronze statue based on Hermes. The 235 feet tall statue is a symbol of the prosperity of Manitoba and its entrepreneurial spirit.  The life sized pair of bison in the entrance each weight 2.5 tons - they were placed on enormous slabs of ice and slid into the building! 

A local acting group brought to life the people associated with Victorian Vaughan Street jail sometimes hilarious but often grisly. 

Dalnavert House Museum built in 1895 is one of the finest examples of Queen Anne revival architecture in Western Canada. The house was owned by Sir Hugh John Macdonald and his family.  His father, Sir John Alexander Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada was born in Scotland.  He became an MP himself and was the Premier of Manitoba in 1900.