We arrive at the building and all pile out of the bus.
It's our old friend Wolfe again.
As you walk toward the entrance you notice an interesting thing about the building material - there are fossils in it. Tyndall stone is a unique sort of limestone quarried not far from Winnipeg. Apparently this part of the country was under the ocean millions of years ago. A little info from the net:
The small village of Garson north-east of Winnipeg bills itself as The Limestone Capital of North America. This is no empty boast. The 450 million year-old (Late Ordovician) Tyndall Stone quarried here is probably the most frequently used building stone in Canada. It is used in the House of Commons, old Eaton's stores, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and in the venerable Empress Hotel in Victoria.
Inside are these impressive bison statues on either side of a staircase. I said to Glenn, "Wow, look at those buffalo." "Bison," the guide's assistant corrected me. The statues were modelled by Charles Gardet of Paris and cast in New York City. Each one weighs 5000 lbs. The question then is - how do you get a 2½ ton sculpture into the building without damaging the lovely marble floors? Well, the story goes that the entire main floor was flooded and frozen. The bison were put on giant slabs of ice from the river and slid into place.
The Carrara marble staircase, shown partially here, consists of 3 flights of 13 steps. Thirteen is a number used throughout the building.
There are a number of Grecian, Egyptian and even western touches throughout the building.
The rotunda - looking down and up. 
Outside we take a closer look at the Golden Boy statue on the top of the building. The north-facing, 17-foot figure holding a golden sheaf and a torch was sculpted by the same artist who designed the bison. This one was cast in France and had 'a bit of a time' getting here as the foundry was partially bombed during WWI. It was then put on a ship but the ship was commandeered for the transport of troops. The statue lay in the hold until after the war when it was finally delivered to Halifax. 
A view from the bus as we leave the grounds.
