Parliament Building (Quebec)

Parliament Building (Quebec)
Parliament Building, in Quebec City
General information
Architectural style	Second Empire
Address	1045, rue des Parlementaires Quebec City, Quebec G1A 1A3
Town or city	Quebec City, Quebec
Country	Canada
Construction started	1877
Completed	1886
Client	Crown in Right of Quebec
Owner	Crown in Right of Quebec
Technical details
Size	52 metres or 171 feet in height.
Design and construction
Architect	Eugène-Étienne Taché

The Parliament Building (French: Hôtel du Parlement) is an eight-floor building in Quebec City and home to the Parliament of Quebec, composed of the Lieutenant-Governor and the National Assembly. The building was designed by architect Eugène-Étienne Taché and was built from 1877 to 1886. With the frontal tower, the building stands at 52 metres or 171 feet in height. The building is located in Place de l'Assemblée nationale, atop Parliament Hill in the district of Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–colline Parlementaire, just outside the walls of Old Quebec; this area is part of the borough of La Cité-Limoilou.

It features the Second Empire architectural style that was popular for prestigious buildings both in Europe (especially France, where the style originated) and the United States during the latter 19th century. Although somewhat more sober in appearance and lacking a towering central belfry, Quebec City's Parliament Building bears a definite likeness to the Philadelphia City Hall, another Second Empire edifice in North America which was built during the same period. Even though the building's symmetrical layout with a frontal clock tower in the middle is typical of legislative institutions of British heritage, the architectural style is believed to be unique among parliament buildings found in other Canadian provincial capitals. Its facade presents a pantheon representing significant events and people of the history of Quebec.

Additional buildings were added next to the Parliament Buildings: