Stepping away from the garden into the shade of the many trees around Rideau Hall, one notices many of them have plaques beneath them, with the names of presidents, world leaders, and royalty. A plaque here shows the reason- many of these trees are the result of ceremonial plantings that continue to this day. It doesn't take long to find trees planted by Queen Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Dwight Eisenhower, Queen Beatrix, Queen Juliana, Harry Truman, Lech Walesa, and many other dignitaries. When John and Jackie Kennedy did this in 1961, JFK messed up his back, a perennial problem for the president.
Nearby we get our first view of Rideau Hall. The mansion first built by McKay has been expanded through the decades since, and draws the visitor in. The mansion at present consists of 175 rooms across some 9500 square metres (over 100 000 square feet) of space, with numerous additional buildings on the property. Most of the Hall is used for official business, with a relatively small portion of it as residence for the governor general's family.
The Ceremonial Guard are on sentry duty here during the summer, and their officers are on hand when a tourist would like to pose for a shot.
The Hall itself is a marvel to behold, a mixture of architectural styles- Regency, Norman, and Florentine.
That's pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteNice so many people have planted a tree there.even our Queens. Sad John Kennedy hurt his back with it.
ReplyDeleteIn North Carolina, we have an Aberdeen Town and Stanley County. So many of these names are here.
ReplyDeleteJanis
GDP
All those trees planted by famous people make the great garden even more interesting.
ReplyDeleteCool uniforms! Well, I imagine they're actually they're probably pretty hot still even in the fall of the year. :-)
ReplyDeletePlanting trees by important men is not common in Spain.
ReplyDeleteTomás.
Oh, I didn't realize there was a sentry available for posing with tourists!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of dignitaries planting the trees!
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice and refreshing to see English, then French, not the other way around, or only French. :) Lovely photos, William.
ReplyDeleteGood they keep planting trees and thanks guards are so kind...
ReplyDeleteWell, you've given me a good Idea. I'm going to go out on the farm and plant a tree and make up a plaque. I'll spread my ashes around the tree for good measure. What do you think of that one? When I find a place with memorial trees I have to look at all of them.
ReplyDelete@Whisk: I think so too!
ReplyDelete@Marianne: as I understand it his back had been an issue for him off and on for a good part of his life.
@Janis: the names travel far!
@Jan: they certainly do!
@Revrunner: the bear hats must be particularly bad on a hot day.
@Tomas: it goes back at this location over a century now.
@EG: the officer was popular!
@Norma: so do I.
@Linda: thank you!
@VP: there's plenty more space for trees too.
@Red: that is a good idea!
The hall is magnificent and also with the guards on duty. Thanks for sharing. Did not know that was Jack Kennedy first hurt his back.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a very regal place.
ReplyDeleteGood to know that all the trees planted by important people are doing so well. Do they all plant the same specie or they were all different kind of trees? Your photos are really beautiful and interesting, showing the places and the guards.
ReplyDeleteI like that tree idea! I don't think I've ever seen much of Rideau Hall before.
ReplyDelete@Linda: as I understand his back problems went back much further, but this aggravated it.
ReplyDelete@Sharon: it certainly is!
@Nancy: many of the trees are red oaks and sugar maples- each plaque identifies the type of tree as well.
@RedPat: it's well worth seeing.
'Tis a building worth of it's position in the country! I like the ceremonial guards, too.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a list of the famous and good, it's great that buildings like this give us information about what they are up to...
ReplyDeleteI want my own tree! Is it only for "celebrities"? ;-)
ReplyDeleteA great looking place, especially with the sentries outside.
ReplyDeletei like the 2 posted guards.
ReplyDeleteIt is huge. I was glad to read it was used for far more than a residence. One would rattle around in 175 rooms.
ReplyDelete@Lowell: it certainly is an impressive place. I should have come here a long while back!
ReplyDelete@Geoff: apparently Bill Clinton planted one too, though I didn't come across it.
@Halcyon: just for the great and the good, as they say, though the odd organization apparently has planted a tree here, like the Boy Scouts.
@Denise: I think so too!
@Tex: me too. Quite dignified.
@Mari: wait until you see inside!
That place is huge!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun to discover and rediscover wonderful places like this? We certainly have nothing so grand as this where we live now!
ReplyDeletei wonder what it is like to be in those hats? are the hot or what? some one needs to do an interview please. ha. ha! ( :
ReplyDeleteLovely pics!
ReplyDelete@Lois: it definitely is!
ReplyDelete@Kay: this is certainly grand.
@Beth: they have to be hot, especially because they're used most in the summer.
@Shelly: thank you!