Six Landmarks And One Abomination

 On my way over to photograph Strathcona Park for yesterday's post, I decided to photograph some spots along the way in Sandy Hill. I started with this. Toller House dates to 1875 and today is home to the embassy of Croatia. I have been inside here for Doors Open.

A couple of blocks away stands Laurier House, a home to two prime ministers and a national historic site. Built in the Second Empire style and initially built in 1878, it became home to Wilfred and Zoe Laurier, and after her death was willed to the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King, who would be our longest serving PM. Artifacts of the Lauriers and King are inside, and it is open to the public during part of the year. Well, when there's not Covid. Hopefully later in the year I'll get a chance to get back inside.

Across from Laurier House stands the former All Saints Anglican Church, a place with plenty of history of its own. After the parish moved on, it was acquired by an organizer with a vision; she created allsaints, an event space and arts centre. A restaurant has taken up quarters in what was the church basement, something that had been in planning stages when I was last here during a Doors Open visit.

Two more views of Laurier House.

Just down the street stands Stadacona Hall. Dating to 1871 and built for a timber baron, it was subsequently home to our first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, and his family, for a few years before they moved off to Earnscliffe not so far away. Today it is an embassy, the High Commission for Brunei Darussalam. For those who might not be aware, high commissions are the term used for any embassy for a Commonwealth member in another country that's part of the Commonwealth.

A peek between hedge bushes. I've been inside a couple of times, during Doors Open, which usually happens the first weekend of June here. Covid being as it is, odds are Doors Open won't happen again this year.

And a bit further up the street, with a view looking down into Strathcona Park. This building dates to 1877, in the Tudor Revival style. What was a mansion now houses a restaurant and culinary art institute in one setting. Signatures is the restaurant side of things, and Le Cordon Bleu is the other side of it. Also a mainstay of Doors Open, and a popular one. I mentioned in yesterday's post about a building with a dash of blue seen from in the park. This is it.

And yet another regular feature at Doors Open, and one I've visited several times. Fleck-Paterson House dates to 1901, built by the timber baron J.R. Booth for his daughter Gertrude Fleck. It later came into the hands of a senator, Norman Paterson. Today it is home to the embassy of Algeria.

Six beautiful buildings above.

Now for the abomination.

The Russian embassy stands close to the Algerian embassy; if standing in the backyard of the latter and looking at the west side of the property perimeter, you're looking up at the back wall of the place. This is the view of the front of the embassy, from the intersection of Laurier Avenue and Charlotte Street. The place looks like a bunker. Hideous. Out of place. Unfriendly.

I took a couple of shots, wondering if I was being watched.

To which I'll say this much to the occupants of this monstrosity: your embassy is ugly, and your president Vladimir is a petty little despotic wanker of a human being with sticky fingers, the pallor of a corpse, a mad-on against the universe just because he was born, and a desperate need to compensate for being overly short, along with other shortcomings- especially south of the beltline.

I don't think Putin's going to invite me for dinner. 

Stadacona Hall

This building, called Stadacona Hall, stands in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood, near a number of other embassies and diplomatic missions. Built in 1871 for a lumber baron, it was home from 1878-1883 to Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and his family before their move to Earnscliffe, another manor of the era. It has housed other diplomatic missions, and today serves as the High Commission for Brunei Darussalam. A High Commission is the same as an embassy, just used for those countries within the Commonwealth. It first took part in Doors Open last year, and its return again this year was welcome.

It is a beautiful building, both inside and out, though I took no shots inside, as there was a note last year about photo restrictions and I assume the same applied this year. Inside there were staffers speaking about the country, and tourism brochures. Brunei is divided into two parts on the island of Borneo, occuping a small portion of the island which is otherwise taken up by Indonesia and Malaysia. 

Embassy Neighbours

Picking up where I left off yesterday, Strathcona Park is bordered on its west side by Range Road. A number of embassies, high commissions (the Commonwealth equivalent of an embassy), or diplomatic residences can be found along this street and close by in Sandy Hill. I have several examples today. We start with the Venezuelan embassy.

This is the residence of the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka.

The High Commissioner for Jamaica has their official residence here.

This is the embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

While this serves as the embassy of Togo.

This is the High Commission for Pakistan.

Here we have the embassy for Gabon, close to where Range Road meets Laurier Avenue.

This is the Egyptian embassy, just around the corner on Laurier.

While this is the High Commission for Kenya, a short walk west on Laurier.

And wrapping it up is another High Commission, one that I showed you in my Doors Open series, for Brunei, which is housed in the 19th century manor Stadacona Hall.

Embassy Row

Since I am now in the midst of this series, I'm using my writer's blog this week for some other events going on in the city at the moment. I'm starting with an event that took place this past Friday at Lansdowne Park, where the city has been collaborating with embassies on presentations of their countries since April, a series that will be ongoing until the beginning of December. Check out the post for Ireland here.

Sandy Hill is a neighbourhood on the east side of the downtown core, with student housing and embassies among its mix. It was the site of some of the Doors Open events, and on my way to one of them, I passed by the Russian embassy, which of course was not part of the occasion, and which always seems to be saying, "get lost, or we bring out Boris."

Nearby is one of the entrances to Strathcona Park, which runs along the Rideau River in this area. 

Turning around gives us a view of this fountain at the entrance. The building in the background was featured in Doors Open. 

I came back to it on the second day of the event, as it was only participating on the Sunday. Munross House dates back to 1874, when it was home to a lumber tycoon, James Mather. It's been restored to old glories, and is home now to a restaurant, Signatures, and a culinary school, Le Cordon Bleu Paris. The lineup, however, was a bit too long for me, so I'll have to remember next year to make a point of coming here early and having this as my first stop of that particular day.

A short walk away was this grand manor. Stadacona Hall was participating for the first time in Doors Open. Built originally for another lumber magnate, John A. Cameron, in 1871, it was home to our first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, and his wife Agnes for a few years before their purchase of Earnscliffe. The manor has served as a residence for ambassadors of Belgium and France in the past. These days it is the High Commission for Brunei. A High Commission is the same thing as an embassy, but is used when both the diplomatic mission and the host country are members of the Commonwealth. The manor is a beauty, both outside and inside. You'll have to take my word on the latter, as photos were restricted to the exterior.

Two Embassies

I am starting out my series on Doors Open today- with two buildings that weren't part of the festivities, but which I would not have seen if I hadn't been in the area. My first intended stop of the weekend was the Algerian embassy in Sandy Hill, which I'll show you tomorrow. I was a bit early, stopped in the nearby Strathcona Park to take some pics (to be shown sometime later this summer when I don't have this many pics waiting to be sorted), and then went up to my destination. This is the Russian embassy, which is very close to the Algerian embassy- you can see this monstrosity from the latter's backyard. The building is even more of a fortress than the American embassy, and practically screams "go away, screw you, and rot in hell." No doubt a gigantic portrait of Darth Vladimir is inside. Which reminds me- I don't understand why our Prime Minister dislikes him so much; they're both megalomaniacal dark lords of the Sith. 

I spoke with a volunteer at another site the next day, and she mentioned that the building dates back to when there was still a Soviet Union, and that the RCMP owned all the houses across the street, just to keep an eye on them.

A short way up the street- and a complete contrast- is Stadacona Hall, which has a historical plaque along one of the gates. Sir John A. Macdonald seemed to be following me throughout the weekend as I visited places. After World War Two the mansion and property was the residence of the Belgian ambassador for many years. Today it serves as the high commission for the nation of Brunei Darussalam. A high commission and high commissioners are the same things as embassies and ambassadors, by the way- they are called that if a Commonwealth country has a diplomatic mission in another Commonwealth country.

This view of the mansion shows a vast difference from the Russian embassy nearby- warm, inviting, and dignified. I will have to photograph it in other seasons.