Town or city Ottawa, Ontario Opened 1889 Construction started 1884 | Country Canada Province Ontario Architect Thomas Fuller | |
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Type Office of the Prime Minister and the Privy Council Office Designations Classified Federal Heritage Building Official name Langevin Block National Historic Site of Canada Part of Confederation Square National Historic Site of Canada Address 80 Wellington St, Ottawa, ON K1P 5K9, Canada Architectural style Second Empire architecture in Europe Similar East Block, Confederation Building, West Block, Centre Block, Confederation Square | ||
Langevin block evacuated
The Langevin Block (French: Édifice Langevin, [lɑ̃ʒvɛ̃]) is an office building facing Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. As the home of the Privy Council Office and Office of the Prime Minister, it is the working headquarters of the executive branch of the Canadian government. Accordingly, the term Langevin Block is sometimes used as a metonym for the Prime Minister's Office. The building is named after Father of Confederation and cabinet minister Hector Langevin.
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The building is a National Historic Site of Canada.
Stephen harper leaving the langevin block
Overview
While the offices of senior Privy Council Office officials remain in the Langevin Block, its use is now largely limited to the Prime Minister's Office, in addition to his or her office in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings.
Started in 1884 and completed in 1889, the block was the first federal government office building constructed outside the Parliament Hill precinct. It is built of sandstone obtained from a New Brunswick quarry owned by Charles Elijah Fish. It occupies a prominent place on Ottawa's Wellington Street, adjacent to the National War Memorial, Chateau Laurier, Government Conference Centre, Rideau Canal, National Arts Centre, High Commission of the United Kingdom in Ottawa, and the Sparks Street Mall. Originally named the Southwest Departmental Building, its current name comes from Sir Hector-Louis Langevin, the Public Works Minister in the Cabinet of Sir John A. Macdonald.
The structure is distinctive in Ottawa for its Second Empire Style design because most government buildings from the period were built in the Gothic Revival style. It was designed by the Chief Dominion Architect Thomas Fuller, who also designed the original Parliament Buildings. In 2000, it was named by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada as one of the top 500 buildings produced in Canada during the last millennium.
The building is connected by a bridge to an office building at 13 Metcalfe Street.
In 2017, the Assembly of First Nations called for the building to be renamed, due to Hector Langevin's role in the creation of Canada's controversial Indian residential schools system.