For many Haligonians, the tower overlooking the Northwest arm has been an historical treasure. Now, Parks Canada has decided to add this treasure to its national inventory of historic sites. It was announced by Metro News yesterday.

Memorial Tower, constructed between 1908-1912, is steeped in symbolism. It was commissioned to mark the 150th anniversary of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the first colonial legislative body of the British Empire. The philosophical inspiration for the tower was St Mark’s Tower in Venice, Italy.

The grounds surrounding the tower were also at one point, the summer retreat for Canada’s most fabled engineer, Sir Sandford Fleming.

“Memorial Tower was meant to celebrate an anticipated imperial future in which Britain would lead her colonies in a unified political and economic coalition, the most powerful in the world.”

To view what other Atlantic treasures are on the list of National Historic Sites, visit Parks Canada