The Queen's Gates is the formal entrance to Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...

, the location of the Canadian parliament buildings

Parliament of Canada

The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

, in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. Built in 1872 and set into the fence, known as the Wellington Wall, between piers designed in the Victorian High Gothic style that was fashionable in Canada at the time, the gates sit on the central axis of the hill's landscaping, in line with the Centennial Flame

Centennial Flame

The Centennial Flame is a symbolic flame that forms the central element of a fountain, itself located symmetrically in the walkway between the Queen's Gates and the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario....

 and Peace Tower

Peace Tower

The Peace Tower is a focal bell and clock tower, sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower after the latter burned down in 1916, along with most of the Centre Block...

 beyond, and open onto Wellington Street.

By the early 1990s, neither the piers nor the ironwork had been properly renovated since their construction; salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

 from the street, the freeze-thaw cycle, and pollution had damaged and disintegrated the grout and stone faces. Thus, in 1992, Public Works and Government Services Canada

Public Works and Government Services Canada

Public Works and Government Services Canada is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for the government's internal servicing and administration....

 began a $5 million restoration project of the entire fence along Wellington, which included the Queen's Gates. The piers were fully repointed

Repointing

Repointing is the process of renewing the pointing in masonry construction. Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between masonry units , allowing the undesirable entrance of water. Water entering through these voids can cause significant damage through frost weathering and...

 and stabilised, including their foundations, and the gates were restored and partly rebuilt by a blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

.

External links

• M.H. Stoneworks Inc. images of the Queen's Gates and restoration thereof

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