Provincial Legislative Assembly Building
New Brunswick's official Assembly Building, built in 1880, boasts an exterior in bulbous, extravagant Second Empire style, but the dressed-up interior is the star. Behind heavy doors that look like the gates of Oz, you find a creaky, wooden place that's surprisingly welcoming. In the small rotunda, look first for the prints from John James Audubon's elephant folio, which are kept on display in a special case. The assembly chamber itself nearly takes your breath away, especially when viewed from the visitor gallery on the upper floors. (To get there, you climb a graceful wood spiral stairway housed in its own rotunda.) The chamber is over-the-top ornate in that fussy Victorian way all out of proportion to the legislative humdrum. Note the regal trappings, including a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth. Self-guided tours are available; plan to spend at least an hour here if you really love old buildings.
New Brunswick's official Assembly Building, built in 1880, boasts an exterior in bulbous, extravagant Second Empire style, but the dressed-up interior is the star. Behind heavy doors that look like the gates of Oz, you find a creaky, wooden place that's surprisingly welcoming. In the small rotunda, look first for the prints from John James Audubon's elephant folio, which are kept on display in a special case. The assembly chamber itself nearly takes your breath away, especially when viewed from the visitor gallery on the upper floors. (To get there, you climb a graceful wood spiral stairway housed in its own rotunda.) The chamber is over-the-top ornate in that fussy Victorian way all out of proportion to the legislative humdrum. Note the regal trappings, including a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth. Self-guided tours are available; plan to spend at least an hour here if you really love old buildings.
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