A few iron goals in the Wellington Street have served as the main entrance to the Parliament Hill site for almost 150 years.
Grand and richly decorated, impressive and yet complicated and are known as the queen's gates in honor of Queen Victoria, the long -term 19TH-British monarch of the tongue who wore the crown when Canada became a nation.
Now you are ready for the next 150 years after the restoration.
“They have a high cultural, cultural and architectural importance and they are works of art,” said Rebecca Casagrande, specialist for nature conservation materials in public services and procurement Canada (PSPC).
“It is important for PSPC to save these goals for the coming generations.”
The in 1876 by HR Ives and Company by HR Ives and Company in Montreal and manufactured in Montreal in 1876 and manufactured in Montreal in 1876.
Their durability can be attributed to the materials from which they have been forged: a mixture of cast iron and high -quality wrought iron from the United Kingdom.
“At that time they were seen as the best example of iron in North America,” said Casagrande, who gave technical advice and guidance to the recovery project team.
distance
The main gates and the two smaller pedestrian goals on both sides were removed from the Wellington Street Wall in March 2024.
Due to its considerable weight – the main gates alone weigh the equivalent of an adult black rhino – a mobile crane was introduced to carry out lifting and loading.
After the gates were attached to trucks, the gates to the Dominion Restization workshop were brought to Montréals South Shore. The Canadian company, which specializes in the restoration of the cultural heritage, won the competition to restore it.
Recovery
While each goal seems to be a big lamp, each sheet actually consists of around 300 separate components. Every rail, every plate, every decorative element – including leaves, flowers and scrolls – is its own work of art.
Mark Jones, President of Dominion Restoration, said his team came across a surprise that confirmed the superior quality of the wrought iron with which they deal with.
“We found a manufacturer stamp on which” best kettle “was said, so we know that the material selection was really first class,” said Jones.
“When we talk about the degrees of blacksmiths, kettles or boat chain, the best grades they could get because they were tested. At that time, that meant that the material was suitable for building a boiler or a pressure vessel and was strong enough to keep a boat.”
In the course of the 20TH Century decreased the commercial production of wrought iron and with the advent of soft steel, which was cheaper and easier to produce mass production. Jones placed recycled, real wrought iron from one of the only remaining suppliers in the world.
In order to start the restoration, Dominion's team took off the external corrosion layer and old color coatings. Next, the parts were soaked in a phosphoric acid bath to transform any hidden rust into iron phosphate that could be brushed away.
Each gate was then put together again, covered with a zinc primer, wiped with a thin one to protect the newly cleaned iron and prevent rust.
New installation
The queen's gates were restored to her original splendor and were brought back to Ottawa in June 2025.
Jones, who comes from generations of construction companies, said that it was an “honor” to restore what he considered as Canada's most important iron -iron assets, and he is proud of the work that his team delivered.
“I have the feeling that they have to pay homage to the piece and the craftsmen,” said Jones. “At that time they didn't have half the tools that we have. The goals were all handmade, with a fire, with a smithy, with a hammer and an anvil.”
This article was published on Senca+, the Digital magazine of the Senate of Canada, on September 8, 2025.
In February 2019, the Senate moved to the building of the Senate of Canada, built in 1912, a former train station. The Senate will take this temporary location, while the center of parliament – the constant home of the Senate – is rehabilitated.
Although Center Block is closed for rehabilitation work, Canadians can still experience their art and architecture through the virtual tour of the Senate.