Now you see it, now you ... won't!: The growing porticoes, disappearing wings, and secret attics of PEI's Province House.

• Author: Morrell, Laura
• Position: Sketches of Parliaments and Parliaments Past - Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island's Province House was very much a work-in-progress as it was being built--with budgets and popular opinion changing the scope of the project several times and leaving some quirky architectural features. But it has stood the test of time for 168 years and ongoing renovations mean it will be preserved for many more.

Prince Edward Island has a respectably lengthy history when it comes to democratic government led by an assembly of citizens. Our first House of Assembly was elected in 1773 when Prince Edward Island was a British colony known as Saint John's Island. The main settlement of Charlotte Town had been laid out around a natural harbor by Charles Morris, Chief Surveyor of Nova Scotia, in his 1768 survey. Green space was set aside on high ground overlooking the harbour for buildings to house the colonial administration. Governor Walter Patterson named it Queen Square and, while it was the site of many different buildings throughout the colony's history, it eventually became home to Province House.

As often happens in life, having a plan and implementing it are two very different endeavours. The burgeoning city had space to build administrative buildings but lacked the financial means. The initial grant of 3,000 [pounds sterling] provided by the British Colonial Office for construction wound up paying the salaries of Governor Patterson and other officials when the mostly-absentee landowners refused to pay their quit rents, which were supposed to fund the colony's administration. (1) It wasn't until 1812 that the first public building was built by John Plaw on Queen Square. The Plaw Building was a small wooden structure shared by the courthouse and the legislature. By the mid-1830s, after the British Government abandoned quit rents in favour of a land assessment tax, the legislature was able to turn its attention towards building a "solid and well constructed edifice for the deposit and safe custody of all Public Records." (2)

In August 1839 a contest to design a brick building to hold the two legislative chambers, offices, committee rooms, a library, visitor galleries, the courts, and seven public offices was published in newspapers in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The winning plan was designed by Island architect Isaac Smith, who was awarded 20 [pounds sterling]. By this time, Smith had a solid track record as the designer--and builder--of most of the key buildings in the colony. His plan called...