History

Work on the Library of Parliament began in 1859, and was completed in 1876. From the outset, the building was acclaimed both in Canada and abroad for its beauty and grandeur. However, another fact that was recognized as soon as the building entered service was that it did not have enough space for all the books in the Parliamentary collection. This problem would only get worse with the passing of time.

National Archives of Canada, PA-18023

In 1916, a fire destroyed the original Centre Block. The Library was saved from the fire by a quick thinking employee (M. MacCormac), who closed the heavy iron doors at the entrance of the building. As a result, the Library of Parliament is the only remaining link to the building that housed Canada's first Parliament.

In 1952, the Library of Parliament experienced a fire of its own. The fire, which was caused by an electrical deficiency, burned in the dome, some 40 metres (or 14 storeys) above the floor. After 10 hours, when the fire was finally extinguished, 908,000 litres (200,000 gallons) of water had poured off the roof or run down the ceiling, soaking books in the Reading Room, in the two upper galleries and in many of the underground vaults.

The fire, combined with the perennial lack of space and the effects of our unforgiving climate, forced the Government of the day to consider two choices: tear the Library down and replace it with a modern structure, or restore it. Parliament decided to restore it, and the Library building was subsequently closed for 46 months for renovations.

Since that time, the building has been continuously assaulted by the effects of age, the weather and corrosive air pollution. Structural repairs, made in a piecemeal fashion, have been inadequate, and in some cases have actually done some harm to the building. As well, space requirements have continued to increase, as more and more publications have been added to the collection and as services offered have diversified. This has been compounded by the fact that, in recent decades, computers, photocopiers and other electronic equipment have become essential components of a modern library.