Temporary Senate of Canada

The Senate of Canada was founded in 1867 with its confederation, but it is currently held in an old train station in Ottawa built in 1912 opposite the senate’s original purpose-built building. Funnily enough, the former train station is older than the 1920 Parliament Centre Block, which has been undergoing Read more

Sears Tower

Now called the Willis Tower, the department store giant Sears once owned this Chicago landmark. The stepped-back upper floors were designed to yield a maximum window-to-floor ratio to make it attractive for tenants. Not having a gallery on the architectural ingenuity of the architecture of the tower is a missed Read more

Château Dufresne

Not actually a castle in the classical European sense, but still a grand 20th-century home. Casa Loma in Toronto is the only true castle remaining in North America. The museum in the ornate Beaux-Arts home in Montreal records the life of the wealthy Dufresne family and how the rich lived Read more

Olympia, WA

The state capital of Washington is a sleepy city called Olympia. It was known as Cheetwood to the indigenous peoples before being renamed by the Europeans. Washington became American territory in 1853 and a wood capitol was built. The current legislative building wasn’t completed until 1928. The Capitol Building has Read more

Frank Lloyd Wright Martin House

Originally from Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright is a renowned American architect who was commissioned to build works such as the Chicago Stock Exchange and the Transportation Building at the Chicago’s World Fair. In addition to massive buildings, he also built homes such as the Walter Davidson House and the Martin Read more

Hofbräuhaus

I actually got the name of it wrong the first five times I was in Munich, I missed out the umlaut whenever I said it, don’t make the same mistake I did! With a history stretching back to the 16th century, it was founded by a duke in Bavaria. HB Read more

B.C. Legislature

Being a government building in service of the people of British Columbia, entry is free after a 10 minute lineup to complete a security check. There are guided tours available from Monday to Friday several times a day, but entry is restricted by appointments only on the weekends. Even though Read more