WATCH: Keith Baldrey gives a unique tour of B.C. Parliament Buildings
Built in the 1890s, the British Columbia Parliament Buildings are one of the best-known landmarks in the province.
But there are plenty of areas inside – and several myths about the building – that you won’t hear about or see on camera.
Keith Baldrey gave us a tour of a few of those places.
The Jail
“It’s just a storage facility now, but the last person kept overnight in this jail was back in the 1910s,” says Baldrey.
“It was actually a journalist, as the story goes, who was found in contempt of the legislature, and housed overnight in the hoosegow.
“Hopefully it won’t be used again for journalists – but we’ll see.”
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The Library
Built as an addition to the Parliament Buildings 20 years after they were first constructed, the library is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary. There is a huge collection of historic books (including a Second Folio of the works of William Shakespeare) and archival books and documents from throughout B.C.’s history.
For politicians, the real draw might be the expansive – and private – sitting quarters, which contain places for sitting or working along with newspapers from every corner of the province. There are also several TVs.
“We’re told they come to watch legislative proceedings, although I wouldn’t be surprised if a hockey game was shown,” says Baldrey.
The Cafeteria
Located on the ground floor of the building, the cafeteria is actually open to the public for lunch.
“It used to be subsidized, which meant cheap meals, but now it’s basically like any other market,” says Baldrey.
“The menu is much more varied than it was for years. For years, the dining room version of exotic food was creamed oysters on toast.”
Speakers Corridor
When politicians go from their offices to the Legislative Chamber, there are generally plenty of press gallery members waiting to ask questions.
“The opposition will come out hoping like heck to be interviewed by the press gallery on the issues they raised. And the government is hoping just to ignore everything, because they’re not interested in what the opposition had to say. Sort of like a Grade 8 sock-hop where people are trying to get others to ask them to dance.”
The Press Gallery Offices
The offices for the press gallery contain plenty of newspapers, private phone booths for reporters to work on scoops, cubicles, and a live speaker so they can listen to what’s happening in the chamber without leaving their desks.
But mainly, there are old photos. Lots and lots of old photos.
The Mysterious Initials Carved Into the Attorney General’s Office
Look closely, and you can see initials on the glass window of the Attorney General’s Office. How did they get there?
“John Wallace de Beque Farris was Attorney General was 1917 to 1922,” says Baldrey.
“Legend has it that Ferris’ wife carved these initials into this window, and they’ve been here almost 100 years.”
The Strange Photo of D.W. Higgins
Higgins was speaker of the legislature from 1890 to 1898, and was an accomplished journalist and politician in British Columbia’s early history.
But his photo in the legislature, surrounded by those of other speakers, has caused much curiosity from politicians and journalists as the years have gone by.
“For years, it was a myth perpetuated over time that this picture was taken after he had died,” says Baldrey.
“The legislative library recently did some research and discovered, lo and behold, he was still alive, thus puncturing one of the more ghoulish myths.”
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