The Manitoba "State Capitol"

 Winnipeg, MB

We took a selfie with a Sea Bear, the Latin translation for Polar Bears.

The Manitoba Legislative Assembly

Today we toured the Manitoba State Capitol, er Manitoba Provincial Capitol, er I mean the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.  We decided to book a tour via email just to be sure we got a guided tour and I am glad we did because you can't just go in and see it.  It is VERY locked down and you need to be on a tour.  This was reinforced when, at the end of the tour, a couple tried to visit the restroom and the guide called over to them so they could be escorted to the restroom or washroom, whichever you prefer.  This is very different than most of the State Buildings we have been to that reiterate the fact that this is The People's Building, paid for by the people, and for the people.

More Sea Bears

The 3rd Legislative Assembly building.  The first one burned down, like most of the capitol buildings, and the 2nd one was too small for the growth of Manitoba.

Where are we?  Which way is north?

A view of The Golden Boy atop the dome.

This is Toba the Bison.  Manny is on the other side of the steps.

Oh Shiny!

A good view of Manny and Toba from the 2nd floor.

Big Bluestem, the official Grass of Manitoba.  From the smell of it around our Airbnb there is a 2nd official grass here.

The North American Planes Bison is the official symbol of Manitoba even though there are very few left like many official icons.

This is a room for ceremonies and other events.  It's used for dignitary visits and other things of that nature.  The pillars in this photo have an interesting story.

The contractor hired to build the Legislature Building was Thomas Kelly.  He was an Irish Immigrant in America.  As he oversaw the building he began stealing building supplies.  Over the course of 2 years he stole things to build his own house about a mile away.  This went unnoticed until he stole giant stone pillars to finish his patio.  The pillars stolen were much like the pillars in the above photo.  Manitoba didn't retrieve the pillars because they were already installed and they feared the pillars would break if moved so they made new pillars out of metal and plaster for the building.  Thomas got the nice pillars and the Legislative Building got the crappy pillars.  Thomas did, in the end, get what was coming to him.  He was sent to prison for 9 months and then sent back to America after paying a hefty fine.

Queen Elizabeth not waving.

This is one of the King Richards and not Tim Curry.  I took two photos because the portraits were painted in a way that made them appear to look at you from all angles.

I was doubtful but it worked.

There were some cool details on the lamps.

There were fewer murals and art than we are used to but the ones that were there were nice.

They even had a dome.

We found Cambot but didn't see Tom Servo, Crow, or Gypsy.  

This is a banner in an area honouring all of the soldiers who have died in wars fought by Canada.

There is a book of names for each war and the pages are turned everyday at 11am.

They also had all of the flags that represented all of the nations that have embassies here in Manitoba.

The coat racks weren't as impressive as the rest of the building.

On the way out Donna pointed out the plugs used to keep engine blocks warm in the winter so cars would start.

Here is me reenacting the Rock Monster fight from Galaxy Quest.

Shoe Shopping and a New Brewery

After the tour we drove to a European Shoe store and Donna picked out some new shoes and then we dropped the car off, picked up Francis, and walked to Little Brown Jug Brewing.  

The patio area at LBJ was very cool.

Donna wore her new shoes too.

The beers were delicious and the glassware was cool.

That was it for today.  If you missed Doughnuts, Dog Park, and a Pinball League check it out via the provided link.