Old Parliament House, Canberra

Old Parliament House served as the seat of the Parliament of Australia from its opening on 9 May 1927, when Parliament moved from Melbourne to the new capital of Canberra, until 1988, when Parliament relocated to the new Parliament House on Capital Hill nearby. Designed by John Smith Murdoch in a stripped, simplified classical style with little ornament, the three story brick building stands about 18.5 meters tall, excluding its flagpole, and presents a facade of strong horizontal lines around a central hall; its interiors used timbers drawn from across Australia to represent the federal character of the Commonwealth. Since 2009 the building has operated as the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, set within about 2.5 hectares of grounds that include parliamentary rose gardens.