The Centre Block Fire of 1916
Photo Credit: Centre Block c. 1895, Library and Archives Canada/C-003760
Do you recognise this building? If you thought it looked like the Centre Block building on Parliament Hill, but that Gothic tower was throwing you off a bit, you’d still be correct. This is what the Centre Block looked like in the 1890s. This building would be destroyed by fire in 1916 at the height of the First World War.
If you’ve never been to Ottawa, and your only knowledge of Parliament Hill is what you have seen on TV, you could be forgiven for believing the Centre Block is the only building on “The Hill”. However, Parliament Hill is made up of 4 distinct buildings that are separated east to west by a large section of manicured lawns and meticulously maintained flower gardens. The buildings other than the Centre Block are:
Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010
The Library of Parliament, a beautiful structure completed in 1876 which lies at the rear of the Centre Block and overlooks the escarpment down to the Ottawa River. It holds thousands of books and rare collections of parliamentary documents that date back as far as 1790. If any Member of Parliament has a parliamentary question, they come here to consult the researchers and librarians.
Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010
The West Block, which was built between 1859 and 1865 with some additions being completed by 1878, is currently closed to the public as it is undergoing some major renovations as you can see from this 2010 photo. If you get up close to the building, you can actually see the crumbling damage and deterioration caused by decades of carbon monoxide and other industrial chemicals. A number of Cabinet Ministers, and their staff, have offices here. This building also houses the historic and ceremonial Confederation Room.
Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010
Finally, we have the East Block which sits right beside the Rideau Canal, across from the Chateau Laurier. It too was completed in 1865 in time for Confederation and it’s the building you might like to take a tour of if you are curious about life on the Hill in the times of Sir John A. Macdonald. His old office has been restored to its historic splendour and outfitted with artefacts Macdonald used while Prime Minister. In addition, you can see offices that belonged to several Governor Generals such as Lord Elgin and Vincent Massey and there is the office of Sir George-Étienne Cartier who was a great friend to Macdonald, a brilliant statesman, and one of the French-Canadian Fathers of Confederation. Currently a number of MPs, and their staff, occupy the East Block.
The Centre Block, however, is the most recognised of the buildings on Parliament Hill. It is the building most frequently shown to TV viewers and it contains not only the Peace Tower, but the Senate and the House of Commons. So what happened on that day in 1916 that gave rise to the Peace Tower and the Centre Block we all know today?
February 3, 1916 was a bitterly cold winter night and Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden was in his office in the Centre Block working on some correspondences for his secretary to draft up the next day. The House of Commons was in a late night session discussing the marketing strategies of the East Coast Fishery when suddenly at about 9pm a clerk forced the Commons two heavy wooden doors open and yelled “Fire! Fire in the building! Everyone out, please!” Some MPs took the call seriously and moved quickly, while others saw doubt in such a statement. Once inside the hallway, however, it was very clear from the billowing smoke that something was seriously wrong. Meanwhile, down Wellington Street at the Chateau Laurier, the Major-General of the Canadian Militia, Sam Hughes, was informed about the situation and immediately called in the 77th Battalion to help with evacuation, fire fighting, and crowd control. Ottawa city fire crews hitched up horses to their fire-wagons in the frosty air and raced towards the Hill. The fire lit up the night sky as you can see in this photo below and witnesses interviewed in the coming days recounted how they could see the fire as far away as the Gatineau Hills.
Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada/C-010079
Even the grand-daughter of the Centre Block’s architect, Thomas Fuller, watched from her downtown apartment building in disbelief at her grandfather’s masterpiece burning in the night sky. Dozens of militiamen, fire fighters, citizens and parliamentary staff did what they could to douse the flames and remove items such as furniture, paintings, and other valuables. But the fire proved too intense to fight. By 9:35pm, the roof of the House of Commons collapsed. At 11pm, the Victoria Tower caught fire and shortly after 1am, the bell tower collapsed. By 3am, the fire was pretty much under control and the gruesome task of removing the bodies began.
In all 7 people died in the fire and many others barely escaped with their lives, including Sir Robert Borden, who escaped on his hands and knees down the stairway that led from his office. What could possibly have caused such a fast spreading fire? Though it has never been confirmed, it is believed that a smouldering cigar in a waste paper basket inside a reading room was to blame. An MP noticed the smoke in the basket and alerted a clerk to grab a fire extinguisher. By the time the clerk returned, the fire had spread up the wood panelled walls and set the velvet curtains on fire. By then, it was too late to contain the fire. All the wood panelling inside the Centre Block had recently been cleaned and thoroughly oiled down. This likely would have acted as an accelerant.
There is one miracle that happened during the fire. The Library of Parliament was undamaged thanks to some foresight on the part of its architects, Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones. They separated the Library of Parliament from the Centre Block by a long, narrow hallway. They also installed heavy iron doors that could be sealed shut in the event of a fire or other disaster. Once word of the fire reached the Library of Parliament, senior librarian Alpheus Todd and library clerk Michael “Connie” MacCormac, slammed shut the iron doors thus preventing the spread of the fire and preserving thousands of valuable and historic documents and the Library itself.
By day-break on February 4th, Ottawa’s citizens got a good glimpse of just how destructive the fire had been. The cold winter temperatures caused the water to freeze, creating an eerie blanket of white ice over the Centre Blocks’ front facade.
Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada/PA-009249
Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada/PA-022433
Early that morning, Borden and many of his Cabinet met at the Chateau Laurier to discuss the situation. Canada was deeply immersed in World War One and had suffered some significant casualties and battle failures up to that point. Discontent in many parts of Canada, including Quebec, meant the groundwork was being set for what would later become the Conscription Crisis of 1917. The last thing Borden wanted was Canadian politics to shut down due to the fire. He worried that Canadians would view their government as weak and disorganised if he didn’t take control of the situation in this time of war. The Victoria Memorial Museum in downtown Ottawa, which is now the Canadian Museum of Nature, was cleared of its central gallery to make way for a temporary place for the House of Commons to meet. Borden also instructed that the Centre Block be cleared and rebuilt immediately. Once the Centre block had been removed, the Library of Parliament cut a lonely figure on top of the Hill above the Ottawa River.
Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada/PA-130625
John A. Pearson and Omar Marchand were the architects who oversaw the design and building of the new Centre Block. It was built in the same Gothic Revival style as the previous building using local area Nepean limestone. An extra floor was added to the new building so that meant more office space for future expansions of parliament. The building was constructed with a steel frame and the interior walls were made of Tydall stone from Manitoba and marbled floors. The fine detailed interior carvings on the stonework would continue well into the 1970s when they were finally completed. The first House of Commons meeting to take place in the new Centre Block was held on February 26, 1920. The Peace Tower was completed over the next several years and finally dedicated on the 60th anniversary of Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1927. It was named the Peace Tower as a memorial to Canada’s war dead from 1914-1918.
A visit to the Blocks on Parliament Hill is a day well spent. All tours are free and last anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes in length. These tours include the Centre Block, the East Block, the Library of Parliament, and the grounds. But get there early as the tours book up quickly for the day. If you want to see the Centre Block, check it out before the end of 2011 because it will be closed between 2012 and 2017 as major interior renovations will be conducted to extend the life of the building.
Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010
If I learned about the Fire of 1916 I had forgotten it over the years. thankyou for this most interesting account on the history of the Fire. How sad that 7 people lost their lives. Great pictures. It has been over 40 years since I have visited our Capital, and nice to see your photo’s. Look forward to your next account of History.