Alberta's Legislature Building was designed by the provincial architect, Allan Merrick Jeffers. He was a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in the United States, and he was probably influenced by the state capitol building there, which was in the popular Beaux Arts style. This style is evident in the design of the Legislature Building: the T-shaped floor plan; the building's entrance, or portico, supported by massive columns; the dome rising above a spacious rotunda. Materials suitable for the building's lofty design were shipped to Edmonton: granite from Vancouver Island for the exterior of the first storey, Paskapoo sandstone from the Glenbow quarry near Calgary for the remaining four storeys, and marble for the interior. Green marble from Pennsylvania was used for the columns and walls of the rotunda, a darker shade of green from Belgium for the Chamber, light grey quarried in Quebec for the floors and stair case, and dark grey from Italy for the base of the walls and columns. Construction began in 1907, and in September 1912 the Duke of Connaught, Canada's Governor General, declared the Legislature Building officially open. Commencing in June 1999, McLeod Masonry began cleaning soot from the building that had been deposited by the coal-burning electrical plant operating in the early part of the century. The most severely damaged stones on the building were replaced and repaired; many years of freeze-thaw cycles had taken their toll. The replacement stones were carved from Paskapoo stone stored in the public works yard. New stones were also manufactured using the McLeod technique for creating man-made sandstone. Some of the previous repairs that were unsuccessful had to be removed and they were replaced with our special patching material. We also did a 100% repoint of the South and East face of the South wing. The roofing was also replaced in these areas. Phase 1 and Phase 2 were completed in early September, 2000 and Phase 3 in 2001.