Embassy of the United States in Ottawa
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The United States embassy in Ottawa is one of Ottawa's most notable buildings and one of America's most impressive embassy buildings. It was opened in 1999, moving from an ideal location directly across the street from the Parliament buildings.
Built in the 1930s, the older building proved to be too small and embassy employees were spread between eight other Ottawa buildings. Security concerns associated with this distribution necessitated centralization. The road to a new embassy was a long and difficult one, with attempts made at getting a new structure beginning in the 1960s. Finding an appropriate site and receiving acceptance from both governments proved to be difficult; One proposal to build the embassy in Rockcliffe Park, near the Canada Aviation Museum, was opposed by locals who worried about security threats and congestion.
The new embassy is located on what used to be a small hill and parking lot on the western edge of the Byward Market. Early in Ottawa's history it had been the site of a number of small homes and businesses, but the land was expropriated by the federal government during the First World War and a temporary office building was built on the site for government workers. The building was torn down after the war, but another temporary structure was built on the site during World War II. This structure survived until 1972 when it was razed and left as a parking lot.
To the west of the embassy is Major's Hill Park while the National Gallery of Canada is just to the northwest of the new embassy. The building's design, by noted architect David Childs, was somewhat controversial in Ottawa. It was built in a very American style foreign to the city. Others complained that the structure overshadowed the historic market, or worried about the danger posed to local businesses by potential terrorist attacks against the embassy. These complaints were aggravated after the September 11th Attacks when a number of roads around the embassy were blocked congesting traffic and hurting businesses. To this day traffic flow on Sussex Drive has been hampered by the closing of one of the lanes in order to place extra barriers. Many feel the structure is a significant Ottawa landmark that adds much to the city, while others consider its imposing architecture and fortress-like design an insult to the city.
Security concerns before the completion of constructioon by the Diplomatic Security Service were overuled by its parent agency, the U.S. State Department. In the aftermath of the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa there was serious consideration given at the time if the new U.S. Embassy should be completed, especially considering the large amount of glass on one side of the new Chacnery that faced a public street. The cost, in terms of money and political capitol, were apparently not enough to stop the completion and dedication of the new Chancery. The embassy was dedicated by President Bill Clinton on October 8, 1999, the first time in American history a president had personally dedicated a new embassy.
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