| Lornado | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Official residence |
| Town or city | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Country | Canada |
| Completed | 1908 |
| Client | Warren Y. Soper |
| Owner | United States government (since 1935) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2.5 |
| Grounds | 10 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 32 |
| Website | |
| U.S. Ambassador's Residence in Ottawa | |
Lornado is the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Canada. It is located in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa, Ontario.
The house was built in 1908 for Warren Y. Soper, an American-born, Ottawa-based industrialist. Soper was the co-founder of the Ottawa Electric Railway Company—Ottawa's first public transit system—and the Ottawa Car Company. The home was constructed on the Soper family's cottage property. In homage to one of his favorite novels, Lorna Doone , Soper named the property "Lornado", a name it has kept to this day.
The United States government purchased the property in 1935 from the Soper family. From 1935 to 1938, the mansion was slightly modified by the United States Department of State, but it still retains many of its Edwardian influences. Despite modernization and refurbishing projects over the years, the interior of Lornado has kept its architectural integrity and much of its original decor. The home still uses some of its original heirloom furnishings and features original artwork on loan from American artists.
The 32-room, 2+1⁄2-story limestone building commands a central place on the grounds of the property, which encompasses ten acres of land. The property includes manicured lawns and landscaped gardens, a greenhouse, maintenance buildings, and a gatehouse. Ornamental shelters located below Lornado and several other houses along the Rockcliffe Park Driveway testify to Soper's company's streetcar line, which once traveled this route. Access to the home is via Rockcliffe Road, a restricted access road guarded by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Another entrance at Manor Avenue is off limits.
The house is located amongst several other diplomatic residences, and it is walking distance to Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General of Canada. Lornado is surrounded by a wall of trees and located above Rockcliffe Park, next to a parkway alongside the Ottawa River. Lornado was the first diplomatic residence to be established in Rockcliffe Park, and it has since been joined by numerous diplomatic residences, including that of the Holy See.
Over the years, many distinguished Americans and Canadians have been guests at Lornado. The list includes many U.S. Presidents and all Canadian Prime Ministers since 1935. American and Canadian visitors have included students, trade delegations, military officers, state governors, congressmen, diplomats, entrepreneurs, academics, bankers, artists, industrialists, educators, and U.S. and Canadian government officials.
Lornado is the venue for the American ambassador's annual 4th of July celebration, when guests (including embassy staff, their families, and other invited persons) enjoy the spectacular grounds and sophisticated cuisine, mark the anniversary of 1776, hear the anthems of both countries, and witness the U.S. Marine Guards perform their flag drill, the Presentation of the Colors. [1]
Rockcliffe Park is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, close to the centre of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1864, organized as a Police village in 1908, and an independent village from 1926, and ultimately amalgamated with the rest of Ottawa on January 1, 2001. As of 2011, it had a population of 2,021. In 1977 the entire village of Rockcliffe Park was designated a Heritage Conservation District. Rockcliffe Park is one of only a handful of surviving nineteenth-century communities of its kind in North America.
New Edinburgh is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located to the northeast of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Beechwood Avenue, and on the east by Springfield Road and the former Rockcliffe Park village limits.
The Embassy of the United States of America in Ottawa is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America to Canada. Opened in 1999, the embassy complex is located at 490 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, Ontario.
The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is the former diplomatic mission of Iranian government. It was located at 245 Metcalfe Street in the Centretown neighbourhood of Ottawa, across the street from the Booth House, currently home to the Laurentian Leadership Centre. Iran moved into the facilities in the summer of 1991; previously they had been based in a building on Roosevelt Avenue in Ottawa's west end. The ambassador lived in a house on Acacia Avenue in Rockcliffe Park, near Stornoway.
The South African High Commission in Ottawa is the High Commission of South Africa in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 15 Sussex Drive in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa. Directly across the street from the embassy is 24 Sussex Drive the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada. East of the High Commission is 7 Rideau Gate, Canada's official guest house for visiting dignitaries. Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General of Canada is also nearby at 1 Sussex Drive.
Australia House in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is the official residence of the Australian High Commissioner to Canada. The house is located on a corner lot at 407 Wilbrod Street in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood of Ottawa, near to a number of other embassies and official residences. The house was built in 1910 by William Davis, and is believed to have been designed by John W.H. Watts. Davis died under inauspicious circumstances in 1916 and it lay vacant for several years before being purchased by Colonel Cameron Macpherson Edwards, who had earlier lived at 24 Sussex Drive. The Edwards left in 1937 and rented the house to Germany to house the Consul General Dr. Erich Windels, who was friendly with Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who lived nearby. Windels was expelled from Canada upon the declaration of war in September 1939.
The Embassy of Germany in Ottawa is located on Waverley Street, off Queen Elizabeth Driveway, in the Golden Triangle neighbourhood of the Canadian capital of Ottawa. The official residence of the Ambassador is in Rockcliffe Park. The current Ambassador to Canada from Germany is Sabine Sparwasser.
Embassy Row in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is generally considered the eastern part of the Sandy Hill and Lower Town neighbourhoods. These areas are sometimes home to buildings that serve as a chancery but more often they are ambassadorial residences. Sometimes the same building serves both purposes, but when they are separated the chancery tends to be located in a commercial or government district of the city, while the official residence is in a residential neighbourhood. Numerous foreign embassies and high commissions are found in the vicinity of Strathcona Park. Many embassies are located on Range Road, Wilbrod Street, and parts of Laurier Avenue and Charlotte Street.
The Embassy of France in Ottawa is the diplomatic mission of France to Canada, located at 42 Sussex Drive in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa.
The High Commission of Pakistan in Ottawa is the diplomatic mission of Pakistan to Canada.
The Embassy of Japan in Canada is located in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 1978 the chancery has been located at 255 Sussex Drive near the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa. The ambassadorial residence is at Waterstone, one of Ottawa's largest mansions in Rockcliffe Park.
The High Commission of Barbados in Ottawa is the primary diplomatic mission of Barbados in Canada. Among the initial diplomatic missions to be established by Barbados after the attainment of independence from Britain, the office is located in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario at 55 Metcalfe Street in Suite 470. The High Commission is located three blocks from Parliament Hill, seat of the national legislature of Canada, on the corner Metcalfe and Queen Streets. The High Commission to Ottawa is further supported by a Consul General in the city of Toronto. The official residence of the Barbadian High Commissioner to Ottawa is located on the edge of Rockcliffe Park at #368 Lisgar Road.
Rockcliffe Park Public School (RPPS) is a public elementary school in the Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The Deerfield Residence is the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.
Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe is a former Canadian Forces Base located in the eastern part of Ottawa, Ontario, now used for Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
190 Coltrin Road is the residence of the High Commissioner of Pakistan in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the enclave of Rockcliffe Park amongst other prestigious ambassadorial residences. It was constructed in 1929 and is considered an important historical site, according to the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee of Rockcliffe Park, under the Ontario Heritage Act (1974).
The Embassy of Ireland is Ireland's embassy in Canada. It is located in the city's downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The Embassy of the United States of America in Dublin is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America to Ireland.
The Embassy of Sweden in Ottawa is Sweden's diplomatic mission in Canada. The Swedish embassy in Canada represents the Swedish government in Canada and The Bahamas. The embassy is located in ByWard Market in the downtown core of the capital of Ottawa. Ambassador since 2023 is Signe Burgstaller. Sweden also has nine honorary consulates in Canada.
This article incorporates public domain material from Residence. U.S. Embassy and Consulates, Canada.
Media related to Lornado at Wikimedia Commons