Rideau Hall |
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Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of
both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It
stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 (88 acre) estate at 1 Sussex
Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 102,000
sq ft, and 24 outbuildings around the grounds. While the equivalent
building in many countries has a prominent, central place in the
national capital (for example Buckingham Palace, the White House, and
the Royal Palace in Amsterdam), Rideau Hall's site is relatively
unobtrusive within Ottawa, giving it more the character of a private
home.
Photo 50, May 2012
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Rideau Hall
Most of Rideau Hall is used for state affairs, only 5,400 sq ft
of its area being dedicated to private living quarters, while
additional areas serve as the offices of the Canadian Heraldic
Authority and the principal workplace of the governor general and his
or her staff — either the term Rideau Hall, as a metonym, or the
formal idiom Government House is employed to refer to this
bureaucratic branch. Officially received at the palace are foreign
heads of state, both incoming and outgoing ambassadors and high
commissioners to Canada, and Canadian crown ministers for audiences
with either the viceroy or the sovereign, should the latter be in
residence. Rideau Hall is likewise the location of many Canadian award
presentations and investitures, where prime ministers and other
members of cabinet are sworn in, and where federal writs of election
are dropped, amongst other ceremonial and constitutional functions.
The house is open to the public for guided tours throughout the year;
approximately 200,000 visitors tour Rideau Hall annually.
Photo 52, May 2012
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Gardens at Rideau Hall
Photo 54, May 2012
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Gardens at Rideau Hall
Photo 55, May 2012
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Gardens at Rideau Hall
Photo 56, May 2012
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Gardens at Rideau Hall
Photo 57, May 2012
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