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A Rich Heritage

Construction of the stately Victoria Memorial Museum Building, the public face of the Canadian Museum of Nature, was completed in 1910. Two years later, the doors opened to the public.

In 2010, an important milestone was celebrated—the 100th anniversary of the original building’s completion.

The roots of Canada's national natural history museum actually go back earlier in time, before the construction of the museum. Over the past 150 years, this illustrious institution has enjoyed a remarkable and eventful history.

It was in 1856 that Sir William Logan, the first Director of Canada's Geological Survey was authorized to "establish a Geological Museum at some convenient place which shall be open at all seasonable hours to be public".

This he did at the Survey’s headquarters in Montreal, and so is considered by many to be the founding father of Canada’s national museums. The Survey moved to Ottawa, to the former Clarendon Hotel, in 1880.

A Blossoming Nation

During the second half of the 19th century, the academic and scientific community in Canada became increasingly vocal about the need for a national museum to showcase the natural and historic treasures of the country.

Two main factors resulted in a decision to build a new museum. First, the end of the 19th century saw dramatic changes in economic growth and industrialization for Canada, resulting in a greater air of confidence for the emerging nation. In Ottawa, Canada’s new capital, people began thinking about building visible symbols to house the nation’s institutions.

The second factor was the great fire of 1900 which destroyed two-thirds of Hull (recently amalgamated into Gatineau) and devastated a swath through the heart of Ottawa. The Geological Museum, at the corner of George and Sussex Streets, was unscathed by the fire, but its vulnerability was highlighted.

The Museum Building

Parliament authorized commencement of the construction of the museum in 1901. The building was to be a tribute to Queen Victoria, whose 64-year reign ended in that year.

Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier had a vision of Ottawa as the "Washington of the north", and the Department of Public Works wanted to create a grand promenade along Metcalfe Street linking Parliament with the Victoria Memorial Museum Building. Although this concept was never realised, in 1903, Supreme Court Justice, William Stewart’s 3.6-hectare (9-acre) cow pasture was chosen on what was then the outskirts of Ottawa. It was located exactly one mile south of Parliament Hill, at the end of Metcalfe Street.

The task of creating a design for the new museum building fell to the Dominion's Chief Architect, David Ewart. Work began on-site in 1905. Three hundred Scottish stonemasons were brought across the Atlantic to work on the building.

The core construction of the museum was completed in 1910. Work continued in the interior with staff preparing the cabinet-displays of minerals, fossils and birds. The "castle" opened its doors in 1912.