The fortress-like prison in Philadelphia have 30-foot walls that go underground. Built in 1830, it was the world’s first purpose-built prison meant to deprive people of freedom as a form of punishment. Jails before this were just holding pens for people waiting for their sentences which might be flogging, hanging, Read more
For someone who used to work at UNOG, the tour is more of the same bullshit. Unfortunately, it’s the only way to get public access to a different UN office. The New York location is political with the General Assembly and Security Council as its most powerful organs. The Geneva Read more
Alberta used to be part of the Northwest Territories so paintings of NWT governors still hang on the walls of Alberta’s Legislature. Its main interior architectural oddity is a water fountain installed to celebrate the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. Its sound echoes around the walls of the rotunda until Read more
Connecticut’s old state house was completed in 1796 and served its original purpose for 82 years. At the time, there was a second state house in New Haven because Connecticut alternated capitals until 1873. From 1878 to 1915, the building was converted into Hartford‘s city hall. I was told that Read more
Queen’s Park is officially known as the Legislative Assembly of Ontario – the province’s elected lawmaking body. Here, which parties sit on the left or the right depend on who is in power, the majority sits on the left and the minority on the right, so the two sides have Read more
Parliament Hill in Ottawa has been under renovation since 2019 and there’s about a decade of work left. While the Senate was moved to the old Union Station, the House of Commons stayed in the same building. It moved its chamber from inside the building to the courtyard and covered Read more
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
It’s not usually open to the public, but the once-a-year Doors Open Toronto event invites everyone to take a peek inside a collection of heritage buildings and city infrastructure. The Toronto Transit Commission’s Danforth Carhouse was built in 1911 by the Toronto Civic Railway to service its growing streetcar network. Read more
It’s not usually open to the public, but the once-a-year Doors Open Toronto event invites everyone to take a peek inside a collection of heritage buildings and city infrastructure. Open Doors Toronto this year was one of the last times the public will ever get a glimpse into the inner Read more
The late Queen Elizabeth II had reigned for so long that people have lived and died in 70 years. Although there was a quick succession of death, ascension, abdication, and coronation in the first third of the 20th century, there hasn’t been a change of guard in recent memory. Canadians Read more