Heritage status: Edmonton Historic Resource
Client: Province of Alberta
Architect(s): Allan Merrick Jeffers; Richard Blakey
Builder: Department of Public Works
Height: 180 feet (55 metres)
Project cost: $4 Million
Photography: http://www.assembly.ab.ca

The Legislature was built in the Beaux Arts style at the same time as the Saskatchewan and Manitoba legislatures and a strong resemblance has been noted. Jeffers may have been influenced by the state capitol in Rhode Island, where he was a student. The style was originally associated with the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and was fashionable in North America between 1895 and 1920. The use of Greek, Roman and Egyptian elements was considered appropriate for public buildings as they suggested power, permanence and tradition. Beaux Arts buildings are characterized by a large central dome rising above a spacious rotunda, a symmetrical T-shaped plan, doors and windows decorated with arches or lintels and a portico supported by massive columns.

The building is supported on concrete piles and constructed around a steel skeleton. The floor is faced with Vancouver Island granite; upper flowers feature sandstone from the Glenbow Quarry in Calgary. The interior fittings include imported marble, mahogany, oak and brass.