Editing 7 Rideau Gate

{{Short description|Official state guest house in Canada}}
{{Infobox Historic building
|name                    = 7 Rideau Gate
|image                   = 9 Rideau Gate.jpg
|caption                 = Main façade of 7 Rideau Gate in 2004
|alternate_name          = Official Guest Residence<ref name="HistoricPlaces.ca"/>
|map_type                =
|latitude                = 
|longitude               = 
|address                 = 7 Rideau Gate
|location_town           = [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]]
|location_country        = Canada
|architect               = Alan Keefer
|client                  = Henry Osgoode Burritt (1862)
|renovation_date         = 1966, 1989
|current_tenants         = 
|landlord                = [[National Capital Commission]]
|engineer                =
|completion_date         = 1862
|date_demolished         =
|cost                    = 
|structural_system       =
|owner                   = {{nowrap|[[Monarchy of Canada|The King in Right of Canada]]}}
|style                   = [[Georgian Revival]]
|size                    = 
|embedded                = 
}}

'''7 Rideau Gate''' is the [[Government of Canada|Canadian government]]'s official [[state guest house]] for [[Very important person|very important dignitaries]], such as visiting [[Head of government|heads of government]] or other high-level officials.<ref name=NCC>{{cite web |url=https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/7-rideau-gate |title=7 Rideau Gate |work=National Capital Commission |access-date=2020-08-07}}</ref> The house is located in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], near other [[official residence]]s such as [[Rideau Hall]] and [[24 Sussex Drive]].<ref name="HistoricPlaces.ca">{{cite web |url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=4650 |title=Official Guest Residence |work=HistoricPlaces.ca |access-date=2018-05-03}}</ref>

Due to ongoing renovations at Rideau Hall, 7 Rideau Gate served from October 2017 as a residence for then Governor General [[Julie Payette]],<ref name=NCC/> who resigned on January 22, 2021.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Coletta|first=Amanda|title=Canada’s embattled governor general resigns amid bullying, harassment allegations|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/canada-governor-general-julie-payette-resigns/2021/01/21/fbe8949a-5c2a-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html|access-date=2021-03-31|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

==History==
The house was built in 1862 for [[Henry Osgoode Burritt]], an Ottawa woollen mill owner. Burritt sold the house in 1873, for the sum of $10,000, to [[Philemon Wetherall Wright]], who named the house 'Edgewood' in acknowledgement of its location (then) at the edge of the town.

The Wrights departed Edgewood three years later, leaving it vacant until it was purchased in 1884 by [[Octavius Henry Lambart]], a son of the [[Frederick Lambart, 8th Earl of Cavan|8th Earl of Cavan]]. The Lambarts remained in the house until 1934, passing it to Octavius' son, [[Frederick Howard John Lambart]].

Commodore [[Percy W. Nelles]], Chief of Staff of the [[Royal Canadian Navy]], became the occupant of 7 Rideau Gate in 1947. He renovated the house to remove its verandas and gut its [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] interiors.

The last private owner was [[T. Franklin Ahearn|Thomas Franklin Ahearn]] (son of the inventor [[Thomas Ahearn]]), who further altered the structure by removing the roof walk and adding exterior shutters, a sunroom on the east side of the original building, and a wing on the west side. Ahearn's daughter [[Lilias Massey|Lilias]], who grew up in the house, would later become the [[Viceregal consort of Canada|châtelaine]] of [[Rideau Hall]] during her father-in-law [[Vincent Massey]]'s term as [[Governor General of Canada]].<ref name=girl>"Girl Who Grew Up Around Corner Rideau 'First Lady'." ''[[Toronto Star]]'', May 10, 1952.</ref>

The property was acquired by the Crown in 1966. The house was, with the assistance of the Canadiana Fund, restored and renovated in 1989 to reinstate historical features, as well as to upgrade the guest facilities. Art and furniture from the [[National Capital Commission]]'s (NCC) Official Residences [[Crown Collection]] are used throughout, as are pieces donated by the Lambart family.

==Current use==
Since 1966, 7 Rideau Gate has generally been used as a guest house for high-level foreign officials who are visiting Canada in an official capacity as guests of the Canadian government.<ref name=NCC/> The hospitality offered by the Crown comes via [[Global Affairs Canada]].

However, due to renovation work at Rideau Hall that began in September 2017,<ref name="Egan">{{cite web |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/egan-renos-push-gg-out-of-rideau-hall-shes-now-in-secret-location |title=Renos push GG out of Rideau Hall — she's now in secret location |work=Ottawa Citizen |access-date=2020-08-07}}</ref> the house served from October 2017 as a residence for the Governor General at that time, [[Julie Payette]].<ref name=NCC/>

From his appointment as Prime Minister prior to the 2025 elections [[Mark Carney]] stayed at the guest house for security reasons. Carney’s stay was brief as he did not live there during campaigning and will move into Rideau Gate as elected PM.

==See also==
* [[Official residence]]
* [[Blair House]] (United States)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/7-rideau-gate 7 Rideau Gate] – National Capital Commission

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[[Category:Federal government buildings in Ottawa]]
[[Category:Houses in Ottawa]]
[[Category:Official residences in Canada]]
[[Category:State guesthouses]]
[[Category:National Capital Commission]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in Canada West]]