Canadian Parliament's First Bell - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posted by: model12
N 45° 25.533 W 075° 42.063
18T E 445157 N 5030464
The old clock tower bell is displayed behind the Center Block of the Parliament Buildings. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Waymark Code: WMB3F6
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 03/30/2011
Views: 47
The plaque reads:
This bell was taken from the ruins of the clock tower destroyed by fire February 3, 1916.
“The fire raged fiercely for hours, the main tower was not touched until about 11 pm, and one of the most pathetic incidents of the night, which moved the spectators, was the striking of the midnight hour by the old tower clock, there seemed almost a human touch as its familiar tones boomed out from the mass of flames.”
From the 1916 report of the Deputy Minister of Public Works.
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The Victoria Tower Bell was cast in 1875 and installed in the Victoria Tower in 1877. The Bell fell from the Tower in the Centre Block fire of 1916 and is one of the few remaining links to Canada's first house of government.
This monument, restored in the year 2000 with the financial support of the Canadian Bankers Association, is a tribute to the role that the Bell played in an earlier time. It is showcased on a circular granite base, etched as the face of a clock, that represents its role in the keeping of time. The Bell's inclined position recalls the angle at which it came to rest after falling during the fire of 1916.
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