Government House (Ontario)
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Government House of Ontario was the official residence of the province's Lieutenant Governor. Two buildings were used for this purpose, though neither exists today, making Ontario one of four provinces to not have an official vice-regal residence.[1]
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[edit] First vice-regal residence
In 1868 a vice regal residence was built in downtown Toronto, designed in the Second Empire style. It was torn down in 1912, when a new official residence was constructed in Rosedale. The site is presently the location of Roy Thomson Hall.
[edit] Second vice-regal residence
The second provincial Government House was constructed between 1911 and 1915, on 0.06 km² (14 acres) of secluded and undeveloped land in Rosedale, a neighbourhood of Toronto. Dubbed Chorley Park, the house was designed by architect Francis R. Heakes and built of Credit Valley stone in a French Renaissance style, reminiscent of French châteaux in the Loire Valley. It was one of the most expensive residences ever constructed in Canada at the time, and outshone even Rideau Hall in size and grandeur. Sir John Strathearn Hendrie and his wife were the first vice-regal couple to live at Chorley Park.
During the Great Depression, Mitchell Hepburn made it a key component of his party's election platform to close Chorley Park, promising that an opulent palace would not be maintained by the taxpayers of Ontario; Chorley Park used 965 tons of coal to operate, whereas the average Toronto home used only six to seven.[2] After Hepburn was appointed Premier, following the Liberal Party's victory in the 1936 provincial election, he was as good as his word and ensured that Albert Edward Matthews would be the last Ontario Lieutenant Governor to live in an official residence; in 1937, after only 22 years and seven viceroys, Chorley Park was closed. The contents of the house were auctioned off in 1938, bringing in a profit of $18,000,[2] and Ontario became the first province in Canada not to have a Government House. (Quebec became the second, in 1966.) The estate was bought by the federal government and served various functions including as a military hospital during World War II, the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Toronto, and residence for refugees of the 1956 Hungarian uprising.[2]
Under mayor Nathan Phillips in 1960, the City of Toronto bought the house for $100,000 in order to destroy it and create municipal parkland.[2] At the time, Chorley Park was considered dilapidated and outmoded, and municipal dollars were being spent demolishing heritage structures throughout Toronto to make room for modern buildings. The building was demolished in 1961, the grounds of the estate added to the civic parks system.
The only trace of Government House left is the bridge to the forecourt, and some depressions in the earth that outline the rough footprint of its foundations. The once formal gardens have long gone fallow and today Chorley Park is a 'naturalized' park.
Ontario's Lieutenant Governor presently uses an office and suite of rooms for entertainment at the Ontario Legislature, Queen's Park. The vice-regal lives in his or her private home if he or she already owns such in Toronto, or is provided a rented residence by the Governor-in-Council.
[edit] See also
- Government Houses of Canada
- Government Houses of the Commonwealth
- Monarchy in Ontario
- Lieutenant Governors of Ontario
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ The others are Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec, although Saskatchewan's Government House does contain the Lieutenant-Governor's offices and is used for official entertaining.
- ^ a b c d Maloney, Mark; Toronto Star: The Curious Case of Chorley Park; July 30, 2007
[edit] External links
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