Canadian Embassy in Washington
Encyclopedia
The Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. is Canada
's main diplomatic mission
to the United States
. The embassy building is located at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue
, Northwest, Washington, D.C. between the Capitol
and the White House
, just north of the National Gallery of Art
.
on Embassy Row
that had been purchased in 1927. The house had been built in 1909 for Clarence Moore, a financier who was killed in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It was at this building that the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, hosted a return dinner for President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
at the end of her state visit
to the United States in 1959. (The building now houses the Embassy of Uzbekistan
).
Over time, the Canadian delegation outgrew this building and spread to other structures scattered throughout Washington. In the 1970s the Embassy of Canada began to search for a new home. At the same time the federally chartered Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation was looking to revitalize the avenue. In 1978, the Canadian Crown-in-Council
purchased a vacant lot for $5 million; the site had previously been a Ford
dealership and a public library
. Canada is the first, and so far only nation, to build an embassy so close to the Capitol. The two nations share a close relationship due to their cultural similarities, geographic proximity, and the volume of trade across their borders.
The new building was designed by British Columbia
architect Arthur Erickson
. This decision generated some controversy as Erickson was handpicked by his friend, Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau
, but the building itself was much acclaimed. Erickson biographer Nicholas Olsberg described the design as "making fun of the ridiculous terms to which buildings must adhere in Washington… He was mocking the US and all of its imperial pretensions".
The new chancery was officially opened by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
in May 1989. The building currently houses about 135 Canadian diplomats and 150 locally engaged staff.
The site is decorated with the large sculpture Spirit of Haida Gwaii
by Bill Reid
. The 'Rotunda of the Provinces' on the embassy courtyard's southeast corner has a domed roof that is supported by 12 columns, one for each of the ten provinces and two territories in existence in 1989. If a person is standing in the center of the area under the dome, any noise they make is reflected and focused back. The magnified volume is only appreciated by the person in the centre. Persons at the perimeter do not experience the same effect.
The ambassador, currently former Manitoba Premier
Gary Doer
, lives in an official residence
on Rock Creek Drive, just off Embassy Row in the northwest sector of the city. This large brick mansion and spacious grounds were purchased in 1948 and Lester B. Pearson
was the first ambassador to reside there. The embassy also owns several other residences.
File:Canadian embassy in US1.jpg|Rotunda of the Provinces, Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C.
File:Inukshuk, Canadian Embassy, Washington.jpg|Inukshuk
sculpture by David Ruben Piqtoukun
the lobby, Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C.
File:CanadianEmbassyResidenceWashingtonDC01.jpg|Official Residence of the Canadian Ambassador, Washington, D.C.
File:Bill Reid Haida Gail 01.jpg|Spirit of Haida Gwaii
, (the Black Canoe)
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's main diplomatic mission
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The embassy building is located at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...
, Northwest, Washington, D.C. between the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
and the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, just north of the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
.
Overview
The embassy had long been based in a mansionMansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
on Embassy Row
Embassy Row
Embassy Row is the informal name for a street or area of a city in which embassies or other diplomatic installations are concentrated. Washington, D.C.'s Embassy Row lies along Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., and its cross streets between Thomas Circle and Ward Circle, although the vast majority of...
that had been purchased in 1927. The house had been built in 1909 for Clarence Moore, a financier who was killed in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It was at this building that the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, hosted a return dinner for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
at the end of her state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
to the United States in 1959. (The building now houses the Embassy of Uzbekistan
Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, D.C.
The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, D.C., , is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the United States and a contributing property to the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District.The embassy is located at 1746 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C...
).
Queen-in-Council
The Queen-in-Council is, in each of the Commonwealth realms, the technical term of constitutional law that refers to the exercise of executive authority, denoting the monarch acting by and with the advice and consent of his or her privy council or executive council The Queen-in-Council (during...
purchased a vacant lot for $5 million; the site had previously been a Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
dealership and a public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
. Canada is the first, and so far only nation, to build an embassy so close to the Capitol. The two nations share a close relationship due to their cultural similarities, geographic proximity, and the volume of trade across their borders.
The new building was designed by British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
architect Arthur Erickson
Arthur Erickson
Arthur Charles Erickson, was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Asian languages at the University of British Columbia, and later earned a degree in architecture from McGill University.-Biography:...
. This decision generated some controversy as Erickson was handpicked by his friend, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
, but the building itself was much acclaimed. Erickson biographer Nicholas Olsberg described the design as "making fun of the ridiculous terms to which buildings must adhere in Washington… He was mocking the US and all of its imperial pretensions".
The new chancery was officially opened by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
in May 1989. The building currently houses about 135 Canadian diplomats and 150 locally engaged staff.
The site is decorated with the large sculpture Spirit of Haida Gwaii
Spirit of Haida Gwaii
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii is a sculpture by British Columbia Haida artist Bill Reid . It is featured on the Canadian $20 bill. -Background:...
by Bill Reid
Bill Reid
William Ronald Reid, OBC was a Canadian artist whose works included jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and painting. His work is featured on the Canadian $20 banknote.-Biography:...
. The 'Rotunda of the Provinces' on the embassy courtyard's southeast corner has a domed roof that is supported by 12 columns, one for each of the ten provinces and two territories in existence in 1989. If a person is standing in the center of the area under the dome, any noise they make is reflected and focused back. The magnified volume is only appreciated by the person in the centre. Persons at the perimeter do not experience the same effect.
The ambassador, currently former Manitoba Premier
Premier of Manitoba
The Premier of Manitoba is the first minister for the Canadian province of Manitoba. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. Until the early 1970s, the title "Prime Minister of Manitoba" was used frequently. Afterwards, the word Premier, derived from the French...
Gary Doer
Gary Doer
Gary Albert Doer, OM is a Canadian diplomat and politician from Manitoba, Canada. Since October 19, 2009, he has served as Canada's Ambassador to the United States...
, lives in an official residence
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...
on Rock Creek Drive, just off Embassy Row in the northwest sector of the city. This large brick mansion and spacious grounds were purchased in 1948 and Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
was the first ambassador to reside there. The embassy also owns several other residences.
Gallery
File:Canadian embassy in US1.jpg|Rotunda of the Provinces, Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C.
File:Inukshuk, Canadian Embassy, Washington.jpg|Inukshuk
Inukshuk
An inuksuk is a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland...
sculpture by David Ruben Piqtoukun
David Ruben Piqtoukun
David Ruben Piqtoukun is an Inuit artist from Paulatuk, Northwest Territories. His output includes sculpture and prints; the sculptural work is innovative in its use of mixed media. His materials and imagery bring together modern and traditional Inuit stylistic elements in a personal vision...
the lobby, Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C.
File:CanadianEmbassyResidenceWashingtonDC01.jpg|Official Residence of the Canadian Ambassador, Washington, D.C.
File:Bill Reid Haida Gail 01.jpg|Spirit of Haida Gwaii
Spirit of Haida Gwaii
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii is a sculpture by British Columbia Haida artist Bill Reid . It is featured on the Canadian $20 bill. -Background:...
, (the Black Canoe)
See also
- Canada-United States relationsCanada-United States relationsRelations between Canada and the United States have spanned more than two centuries. This includes a shared British colonial heritage, warfare during the 1770s and 1812, and the eventual development of one of the most successful international relationships in the modern world...
- Embassy of the United States in OttawaEmbassy of the United States in OttawaThe United States Embassy in Ottawa is a building located in Ottawa which opened in 1999.-Original mission:Before this date the mission occupied a 1930s era building directly across from Parliament Hill at 100 Wellington Street...
- List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States