The Connaught Building is a historic

office building An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, owned by

Public Services and Procurement Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; ),''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works and Government Services (). formerly Public Works ...

. It is located at 555 MacKenzie Avenue, just south of the United States Embassy. To the east, the building looks out on the

Byward Market The ByWard Market (), is a retail and entertainment district in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located east of the government and business district. The Market district includes the market buildings and open-air market alo ...

, and to the west is MacKenzie Avenue and Major's Hill Park. Today, it houses a portion of Headquarters operations for the

Canada Revenue Agency The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Government of Canada, Canadian federal government, and most Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects Taxation in Canada, taxes, ...

(CRA). The Minister and Commissioner of the CRA have offices in the building.

History

By the early 20th century, the Parliament Buildings were running out of space to house Canada's civil service and offices of the legislative branch of the government. The Tudor- Gothic structure was designed by chief architect

David Ewart David Ewart, Imperial Service Order, ISO (18 February 1841 – 6 June 1921) was a Canadians, Canadian architect who served as Chief Dominion Architect from 1896 to 1914. As chief government architect he was responsible for many of the federal bu ...

, who also did the similarly modified Norman style architecture of the Victoria Memorial Building of the Canadian Museum of Nature and the

Royal Canadian Mint The Royal Canadian Mint () is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under an act of parliament referred to as the ''Royal Canadian Mint Act''. The shares of the mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada. The mi ...

. Work began on the building in 1913, but the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and other problems intervened, greatly slowing construction. The building was completed in 1915 and first used as the Customs Examining Warehouse by the Canada Customs (then the country's customs and border security agency). The building was named after the Duke of Connaught, third son of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, who served as 10th

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

from 1911 to 1916. It had one basement level and seven levels above ground. In 1971, the building underwent extensive renovation and two additional levels were created by building floors inside the high ceilings of the basement and ground floors. The building subsequently comprised two basement levels and eight above grade levels (on the Sussex Drive side). The third floor also exits to MacKenzie Avenue at street level. The Connaught Building was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

in 1990, on the basis that the building is a testament to Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

's commitment to the enhancement of architecture in Canada's capital, and as it is one of the best works of David Ewart. The building has been designated since 1988, as a " Federal Heritage Building" of "Classified" Status, the highest level of protection for federally owned buildings, primarily for its architectural significance.Parks Canada - Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office
Register
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Gallery

File:Connaught Building.JPG, Connaught Building File:Connaught Building NW Corner.jpg, Northwest Corner File:Connaught_2022.jpg, Westside

References

External links

*
Connaught Building
– Canadian Register of Historic Places {{NHSC Federal government buildings in Ottawa Gothic Revival architecture in Ottawa Designated heritage properties in Ottawa Office buildings in Ottawa Sussex Drive

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links