Nov. 26, 2018: Grand Staircase, Manitoba Legislative Building

One of my favorite places to visit in Manitoba is the main entrance to it’s Legislative Building — home of the province’s governing body.  Within the entrance is a magnificent staircase framed by two bison — know affectionately by me as the Bison Stairs (but to most others as the Grand Staircase).  The bison is the symbol of the province of Manitoba.

01 Bison stairs

02 Bison stairs

The staircase is composed of Carrara marble and has three flights each with 13 steps.   The bison flanking the lower stairs are solid bronze and were cast in New York, each weighing 2 1/2 tons.  Apparently to install the bison without damaging the marble floors, the main entrance was flooded and left to freeze.  The bison were slide in on slabs of ice cut from the nearby Assiniboine River.

04 Bison stairs
Below are four of my favorite people, my two sons and their wives.  

03 Bison stairs

And some of the architectural details of the entrance.

05 Bison stairs

06 Bison stairs

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