A Place Of Comfort And History

I have more from Laurier House today, taken during my Doors Open visit. The building has quite a collection of art work, but it also feels comfortable, like a home.

A photograph of King with one of his dogs can also be found here. A lifelong bachelor, King left Laurier House and his estate in the Gatineau Hills to the nation in his will.

This is the master bedroom; both the Lauriers and King made it their own during their time here. 

Coming up to the top floor brings us to a room Laurier and King both made good use of. Laurier turned this into a billiards room, while King made it his office, running the country from here. I find it thoroughly appealing.

Perched at the back of the piano in this room is a crystal ball. King had an interest in spiritualism, and this was his.

This proclamation is a wanted poster that King took pride in. His grandfather, William Lyon Mackenzie,  a prominent journalist and politician, took part in the rebellions of 1837, and for a time was a wanted man.

The Breakfast Room was the housekeeper's room during the Laurier era. King preferred to have most of his meals in this room, right across the hall from his office. A display case here contains plaster casts of the hands and face of Abraham Lincoln, done in 1860, at the time of the Republican nomination, by Leonard Volk. These are one of three or four sets of the casts in the world. 

And this is the room itself.

Coming back out of Laurier House, I paused on the verandah, and then took a shot of the house from the street before crossing to my next destination for Doors Open, which happens to be a neighbour to this place.