| Victoria Memorial Museum Building |
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Preserving History, Building the Future
New vision, new spaces, new galleries! We're renovating and rehabilitating the VMMB as part of our comprehensive plan for renewal. |
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Victoria Memorial Museum Building
The distinctive Victoria Memorial Museum Building (VMMB) has been the home of the Canadian Museum of Nature (formerly the National Museum of Natural Sciences) since 1912. Over the many years since its construction, the VMMB has become a national monument and landmark in Ottawa, the nation's capital. Nature's Natural Heritage Building in Gatineau, Quebec is the site of our administrative, research and collections operations.
Heritage in Stone
Most of Nature's exhibitions and programmes are housed or take place in the Victoria Memorial Museum Building. This fine example of early 20th century architecture, the "castle" (as it is affectionately known) has a long and lively history. In 1905, in a field in the south of Ottawa, work began on a massive new building formed out of local sandstone. The chief architect and designer David Ewart created a fanciful castle-like building that has been described as "Scottish baronial" in design. The building was intended to mirror the Centre Block of Canada's Parliament Buildings, due north of the VMMB's building site. Both buildings share similar stonework on the facade and, at one time, shared a similar tower. Unfortunately, in 1915, the top of the VMMB's tower was removed because the foundation could not sustain the tower's weight.
Famous Tenants
Over the decades, the Museum has shared the VMMB with a number of notable tenants. In 1916, the building became the emergency headquarters for the Canadian government after the fire at the Parliament Buildings. The House of Commons sat in the auditorium for four years, while the Senate occupied the former first-floor mineral gallery (once the the Hall of Invertebrate Fossils). When the former Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier died, his body lay in state in the Museum's auditorium.
It wasn't until 1988 that the castle became the exclusive home of the Canadian Museum of Nature. Today, the VMMB is as majestic and beautiful as it was at the turn of the century. A major rehabilitation project resulted in newly cleaned stonework and new windows. When you visit Nature, be sure to take time to admire some of the architectural details of this fine, stone heritage building.
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