The seat of the BC Legislature, designed by 25-year-old Francis Rattenbury in a competition in 1892 and finished in 1898. The pale stone domes and copper roofs face the Inner Harbour, and at night the entire facade is outlined in thousands of light bulbs — a tradition that started for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York in 1901 and was never discontinued. Free guided tours run on weekdays when the legislature is sitting.
Parliament Buildings
Rattenbury's 1898 stone domes lit up nightly on the harbour
A story
Francis Rattenbury designed the Parliament Buildings at 25 and the Empress Hotel at 29, making him the defining architect of Victoria before he was 30. His later life was less triumphant: he retired to England, had a scandalous affair with a much younger woman named Alma, and was murdered in 1935 by her chauffeur lover. The case became one of the most celebrated murder trials of interwar Britain.