24 Sussex Drive

24 Sussex Drive (also known as Gorffwysfa known Fr. 24, promenade Sussex ) is the official residence of the Canadian Prime Minister. It is located in the capital city Ottawa New Edinburgh district, north of the mouth of the Rideau River in the Ottawa River. It was built in 1866-1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier. 1950, Louis Saint -Laurent, the first Prime Minister, who moved here.

History

The house was built from 1866 to 1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier, a sawmill owner and deputies in the lower house, as a gift for his future wife. He named the house Gorffwysfa, Welsh for " place of peace ". After Currier's death in 1884, his widow continued to live there. 1901 reached the house in the possession of William Cameron Edwards, a sawmill business and political leaders, in 1926 his nephew Gordon Edwards.

By 1943, the federal government had all land acquired in the neighborhood in order to protect them from speculation. The last 24 Sussex Drive was left, so the government ordered the eviction. Edwards fought by legal means against it, but lost in court in 1946. The government was initially unsure of what to do with the house, but in 1950 decided to renovate it and use it as a residence for the Prime Minister. A year later, Louis Saint -Laurent moved in.. With the exception of Kim Campbell each subsequent Prime Minister lived there.

Building

24 Sussex Drive is a large limestone building with 34 rooms on four floors. Next door is the French Embassy, on the other side of the street Rideau Hall, the residence of the Governor General. The house is used almost exclusively for residential purposes, the workplace of the Prime Minister is in the Langevin Building at Parliament Hill; However, sometimes informal meetings are held here.