Macdonald House was a seven-storey Neo-Georgian style building on

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

in the

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

area of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. It was part of the High Commission of Canada from 1961 to 2014. Macdonald House was used for the High Commission's cultural and consular functions, trade and administrative sections, immigration section, and as the High Commissioner's official residence. From 1938 to 1960, the building was the Embassy of the United States. The

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

sold Macdonald House to a property developer in 2013 and vacated the building in 2014. Subsequently, Macdonald House was converted into a high-end residential building named №1 Grosvenor Square.

History

In 1936, the former (residential) buildings on the site were demolished as part of a

redevelopment Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space. Description Variations on redevelopment include ...

scheme led by the

Duke of Westminster Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

. A new building was built and occupied numbers 1 to 3 on the eastern side of the square. The American embassy moved into the building in 1938. During the Second World War, when the U.S. embassy was on one side and U.S. General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's headquarters on another, Grosvenor Square became popularly known as "Little America", or "Eisenhowerplatz" (this last, Germanic, form was a joke about Eisenhower's German-origin name). After a new

Modernist style Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architecture wa ...

building at 24 Grosvenor Square (designed by

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

) was completed in 1960, the American embassy moved to that site. The building was then acquired by the Canadian government and renamed Macdonald House in honour of Canada's first prime minister, Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11January 18156June 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political ...

. It was re-opened by the Canadian High Commission on

Dominion Day Dominion Day was a day commemorating the granting of certain countries Dominion status — that is, "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or externa ...

(July 1), 1961. In December 2008, the Government of Canada revived previous plans to sell Macdonald House and purchase a building closer to

Canada House Canada House () is a Greek Revival building on Trafalgar Square in London. It has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1970. It has served as the Chancery (diplomacy), chancery of the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom since 192 ...

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

. In February 2010, the government of Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

cancelled the sale for the third time. On December 20, 2010, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade announced that Canada House, the High Commission's diplomatic, public and educational space in London, would close to undergo necessary renovations. It re-opened in 2012.

Sale and redevelopment

On November 28, 2013, the Canadian government announced that Macdonald House had been sold to an India-based developer (

Lodha Group Lodha or Macrotech Developers (formerly known as Lodha Developers) is an Indian multinational real estate company and construction company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It was founded in 1980 by Mangal Prabhat Lodha. It has developed residenti ...

) for $530 million. The building was vacated in mid-December 2014, when all the services of the High Commission were regrouped in the expanded and refurbished Canada House on Trafalgar Square. Indian property developer Lodha Group then began redeveloping the property. The project involved the demolition of Macdonald House and disassembly of its facade, which was to be rebuilt to become the facade of the new building. The developer is recreating the

Neo-Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

of Macdonald House in a new, high-end residential building called No.1 Grosvenor Square.

Gallery

File:HC of Canada, London 3.jpg, Macdonald House in 2013 File:The border between Italy and Canada - geograph.org.uk - 707550.jpg, View of the building and the back entrance of the Embassy of Italy File:HC_of_Canada,_London_1.jpg, A side entrance to Macdonald House on Grosvenor Street File:HC_of_Canada,_London_2.jpg, Plaque outside in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

References

External links

No.1 Grosvenor Square website

Lodha Luxury Collection – No.1 Grosvenor Square

U.S. Embassy page about Grosvenor Square
– () {{Diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures completed in 1938 Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Canada–United Kingdom relations Diplomatic missions in London

United Kingdom–United States relations