Doorway to the Past
Aberdeen Pavilion, named after Governor General Lord Aberdeen, is the oldest exhibition hall of its kind left in North America. Designed by architect Moses C. Edey, "The Cattle Castle" was built in 1898 by the Dominion Bridge Company true to the ornate Victorian style. It was, afterall, inspired by the Crystal Palace in London, England although with a much different intention: to host the Central Canadian Exhibition, an agricultural fair at the time. Another use to the space came in 1904 when the Ottawa Senators (then known as the Ottawa Hockey Club) played a full NHL season and hosted the years' Stanley Cup challenge.
This wondrous expanse totaling 36,000 square feet of column-free space was designated a National Historic Site in 1983 and a formidable restoration took place eleven years later thanks to the generosity of the City of Ottawa. It is ironic that even though the Federal Government honoured the building with the National Historic Site title, they and the Provincial Government, refused assistance with the $5.3 million restoration....
2 comments:
Just imagine all the fun and interesting exhibits which have transpired behind the front doors! If walls could talk ...
What an amazing building. I can't imagine the 'column-free' part of it. Sounds like an engineering feat too.
Strange though. When I first saw the photo, I thought it had Middle Eastern influences. Victorian didn't even enter my mind.
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