| Laurier House | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | 335 Laurier Avenue East Ottawa,Ontario K1N 6R4 |
| Coordinates | 45°25′38″N075°40′40″W / 45.42722°N 75.67778°W /45.42722; -75.67778 |
| Built | 1878 |
| Original use | Residence |
| Current use | Museum |
| Architect | James Mather |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
| Website | Laurier House NHS |
| Official name | Laurier House National Historic Site |
| Designated | 29 May 1956 |
| Reference no. | 464 |
Laurier House (French:Maison Laurier) is aNational Historic Site inOttawa,Ontario, Canada (in theSandy Hill district). It was formerly the residence of twoCanadian prime ministers: SirWilfrid Laurier (for whom the house is named) andWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King.[1] The home is now ahistoric house museum that is open to the public for guided tours fromVictoria Day in May untilThanksgiving in October.[2] Its address is 335 Laurier Avenue East.[3]
The house was built in 1878, but it had significant later alterations. It now exhibits elements of theItalianate manner, as well as traces ofSecond Empire style.[1]
Laurier lived there from 1897 until his death in 1919. His wife,Zoé Laurier, willed the house to Mackenzie King upon her death in 1921. King then lived there from 1923[1] until his death in 1950, and he willed the house to theCanadian Crown.
The Cabinet then briefly considered designating the home as the permanentofficial residence of the prime minister. However, the prime minister at the time,Louis St. Laurent, opposed designating it as such. Instead,24 Sussex Drive—a property the Crown had acquired a few years earlier through expropriation—was selected and designated as the prime minister's official residence in 1951.
Many distinguished guests of Canada were received at this house, such as KingGeorge VI, SirWinston Churchill,[1]Charles de Gaulle,Franklin D. Roosevelt,[1] and others.
Under the terms of theLaurier House Act 1951, the home and its grounds were entrusted to theNational Capital Commission (NCC), theDepartment of Public Works, andLibrary and Archives Canada. Since 1988, the house has been administered byParks Canada as part of the national park system, operating it as a public museum. However, the NCC continues to maintain the grounds, and the national archives retain ownership of all archival materials in the house.[4]
In 2022, a memorial plaque was installed to the first Canadian code-breaking unit.[5]
Media related toLaurier House at Wikimedia CommonsNational Historic Sites of Canada by location | |
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