| Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Coordinates | |
| Location | Washington, D.C. 20001 |
| Address | 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW |
| Ambassador | Gary Doer |
The Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. (French: Ambassade du Canada à Washington) 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.[1]
Contents |
The embassy had long been based in a mansion 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".[2]
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.[3] 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.
Protests were held there in July 2010 against the Keystone Pipeline.[4]
|
||||||||||||||||||||