The Sanctuary building...

[doylefan22]

When I was writing something today I had an interesting thought about the actual Sanctuary building itself - namely where the hell did it come from?

It looks like a massive, Gothic cathedral and seems to have very European design so are we to assume that Magnus Snr had it built to house the Sanctuary? Or was it Helen? When is also an issue because it has a massive footprint so it would have had to have been a time when they could get hold of a lot of free land.

If, on the off chance, it was an existing building, what on earth was it originally used for?

It clearly seems out of place with the modern city architecture. It makes you wonder what the locals think it actually is!

[WishIwasJoes]

Not only that but wouldn't a building so unlike its surroundings attract attention rather than deflect it? Personally I love the way it looks. Is it more than one building? Like an estate grounds?

Some weathy people have been known to move buildings as large as castles from country to coutry, piece by peice. I like to think that Helen personally herself started each sanctuary around the globe and then left some one smart in charge. I guess I got that from the fact that she was once in England and there is a sanctuary there.

I would just guess that Helen move the building(s) over when she made her home in the old city. People would perhaps write her off as a rich person with too much time on her hands and not a Dr. running a medical building.

[Mousie]

I posted the same question ages ago though you've put it far better.

I think Helen had it built. She probably bought the land. Lets not forget, although we don't know how wealthy Helen's family was I assume they had some money. The land might not have been hugely expensive as it might not have been in the 'desirable' part of town.

I'm sure in Warriors Helen tells Gregory when she is showing him around that she built it to his specs. As it seems to go down a long way and be quite spread out (Given that they have to have sufficient room for all the habitats) I'm sure it was probably nearly all built at the same time, with maybe some later additions.

[EvenstarSRV]

I've always thought that it was an old cathedral in Old City, that was probably abandoned when New City was developed, that Helen took over and converted into a Sanctuary when she decided to relocate to America.

It looks rather like she built the lab areas from scratch, but probably just renovated the residence wings and office spaces.

[doylefan22]

Looking at the aerial shot this episode, the left does look like an old cathedral so I'm wondering if Magnus brought an abandoned one and added a massive extension on the right...The cathedral part seems to be rather run down after all.

[Amalthea]

I think it's beautiful, however you describe it. It looks like something that started off as a castle with a private cathedral and other buildings castles need to sustain themselves, and then when Magnus bought it, or however she came into possession of it, she linked up all the buildings and changed them to suit her purposes.

[Skydiver]

you know, some churches were actually 'compounds' in the old days.(some kind of are now, with schools, adult day care, child care, etc all on the church property) In that they sometimes had a nunnery and a monastery and a school or hospital or orphanage or all that attached to them. which means that they had a massive footprint.

and land was cheap in the 1800's, even in the west.

add to that that the image has always been that once new city was built, old city was virtually abandoned, easy to stake a claim. especially with helen's money and connections. Heck, she could have gotten the church that started it to 'give' her the land.

a church also ties into the name of the show, Sanctuary. In the old days, a fleeing person could seek 'sanctuary' from their pursuers. This was back in the days when the church had total respect and a priest/religious figure could literally stop a war by standing up and saying 'stop or you will burn in hell', and people believed it, the fear for their immortal soul would stop them from taking action.

People could also take refuge in a church or on its grounds and some invaders would respect that it was holy ground and wouldn't harm anyone there. it literally was a sanctuary from invaders/attackers.

by using a church, Helen is following the age old tradition of 'sanctuary' by using the symbolism of a church. (and also, the part where the altar is is also called the sanctuary of the church, literally by name)

I think it's also interesting that Helen, a product of the Victorian era, uses the religious symbolism, yet the Victorian era was also 'famous' for the questioning of religious beliefs in favor of science and facts.

[satan87]

i don't think magnus build the complete sanctuary
if i'am not wrong she is about 150 years old and i think a complete construction like that required more ...
maybe she was helped by some abnormals ...
nico

[AresLover452]

Not only that but wouldn't a building so unlike its surroundings attract attention rather than deflect it? Personally I love the way it looks. Is it more than one building? Like an estate grounds?

I love the way it looks too. in the eppy Warriors Helen was tell her dad that she modeled her lab on the lab he had sketched out in his journal.

I think they intended for the Sanctuary to be a renovated Gothic church, hence to give it a more Sanctuary like feel due to the Holy ground.