Wikipedia
Government House is the name of many of the residences of Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. It serves as the venue for the Governor's official business, as well as the many receptions and functions hosted by the occupant. Sometimes, "Government House" is used as a metonym for the Governor or his office.
Government House of British Columbia is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, as well as that in Victoria of the Canadian monarch, and has casually been described as "the Ceremonial Home of all British Columbians." It stands in the provincial capital on a estate at 1401 Rockland Avenue; while the equivalent building in many countries has a prominent, central place in the capital, the site of British Columbia's Government House is relatively unobtrusive within Victoria, giving it more the character of a private home.
Government House of Manitoba is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, as well as that in Winnipeg of the Canadian monarch. It stands in the provincial capital, on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building, at 10 Kennedy Street; unlike other provincial Government Houses in Canada, this gives Manitoba's royal residence a prominent urban setting, though it is surrounded by gardens.
Government House is the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. Government House was a by-product of the wave of administrative initiatives that took place during the 1820s. The royal charter of 1825 bestowed official colonial status for Newfoundland.
The first governors of Newfoundland were naval officers who resided on their flagship, anchored in St. John's harbour. However, Admiral Richard Edwards decided it would be more apt for the Governor to live ashore, and thenceforth the governor resided at Fort Townshend, where the first Government House was constructed. Completed in 1781, it was intended to be a summer house for the governors, but remained in constant use until the present structure was finished in 1831. Never intended for winter use, the inhabitants complained of the cold, and Francis Pickmore even died there in the winter of 1818.
The building plans for Government House were drawn up in England. The Ordinance had told the Treasury that workmen's wages were too high in Newfoundland, and subsequently, workmen in Scotland were engaged and arrived in St. John's to begin construction in April 1827. The original plan as conceived by Governor Cochrane was for a two-storey house, plus basement. When completed in 1831, Government House cost £38,175, which was five times the original estimate and an enormous expense at the time. The two-storey building consists of a centre block flanked by slightly lower wings on the east and on the west. The exterior is of rough, red sandstone quarried at Signal Hill, trimmed with English Portland stone.
The construction of the new Government House was meant to reflect the proper status of the governor of a province that was now a proper British colony, and a key part of the Empire. The principal rooms for entertaining - a salon, dining room, and ballroom - along with the main entrance hall were laid out in such a manner as to allow for ceremonial processions, and pomp befitting a governor.
The Lieutenant-Governor's residence is where the Canadian Royal Family and visiting foreign dignitaries are greeted. Inside are also reception rooms, offices and support facilities; the Lieutenant-Governor's office is the site of swearing-in ceremonies for Cabinet ministers, where Royal Assent is granted, and where the Lieutenant-Governor receives the Premier.
The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
Government House was the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and Ontario, Canada. Four buildings were used for this purpose, none of which exist today, making Ontario one of four provinces not to have an official vice-regal residence.
Government House of Nova Scotia is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, as well as that in Halifax of the Canadian monarch. It stands in the provincial capital at 1451 Barrington Street; unlike other provincial Government Houses in Canada, this gives Nova Scotia's royal residence a prominent urban setting, though it is still surrounded by gardens.
Government House, Regina, Saskatchewan, was constructed as a residence for the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, whose territorial headquarters were in Regina until the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were created out of the Territories in 1905 and Regina became the capital of Saskatchewan.
At that point Government House became the vice-regal residence of Saskatchewan, which it remained until 1944 when it was vacated until it was returned to official ceremonial use in 1984.
Government House of Prince Edward Island, often referred to as Fanningbank, is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, as well as that in Charlottetown of the Canadian monarch. It stands in the provincial capital at 1 Terry Fox Drive; while the equivalent building in many countries has a prominent, central place in the capital, the site of Prince Edward Island's Government House is relatively unobtrusive within Charlottetown, giving it more the character of a private home.
Quebec's Government House, known as Spencerwood, was the Vice regal residence of Quebec. It was built in 1854. Located at the Bois-de-Coulonge park (upstream of the Plains of Abraham and overlooking Anse au Foulon), it was purchased by the Quebec Government in 1870 and served as the residence of Quebec Lieutenant-Governors until 1966 when a major fire destroyed the main residence.
Originally, the residence of the Governor of New France was at the Château St-Louis, in the capital of Quebec City. The monarch's representative continues to work and reside in that city, however, like Ontario, Quebec no longer has an official Government House, after Spencerwood burned down in 1966. Instead he or she holds an office and a suite of rooms for entertaining near the Parliament Building.
From 1867 to 1881 Lieutenant Governors of Quebec maintained a separate working office at the Maison Sewell, after which it was moved to the old parliament buildings. It remained there until 1979 when the office moved again to the André-Laurendeau building, where all the fittings and furniture were brought to from the former location. Inside are reception rooms, offices and support facilities. The royal suite is the site of swearing-in ceremonies for Cabinet ministers, where Royal Assent is granted, and where the Lieutenant Governor receives his or her premier. Whenever the sovereign and/or other members of the Royal Family are in the provincial capital, he or she resides at a hotel.
The history of this park goes back at the very start of the French regime in 1633. Louis D’Ailleboust, Esquire, of Coulonge and third Governor of New France who occupied it. This estate and several other properties of the Governor became one large estate (much larger than today’s park) in 1657 and was named Châtellenie. It is after his death that the estate was sold to the sisters of the Augustine order the Hôtel-Dieu and in 1676 the Quebec Seminary acquired the property.
After the English conquest, the seminary, not having enough funds, sold one of the lots in 1780 to an English officer, Henry Watson Powell, who named this area Powell Place. To create comfortable living quarters, he had a villa, greenhouses and trails built. The park would again change its name around 1811 when Michael Henry Perceval became owner and called it Spencerwood. However, the beauty that we admire today is owed in part to Henry Atkinson, who bought this land in 1833. With his gardener, he created an English style garden with elms, oaks and trails. Without an owner in 1854, the estate was divided into several sections and the most imposing lot was bought by the government of United Canada to house the Governor General.
Six years later, a fire completely destroyed the Governor-General’s residence. The house was rebuilt in 1862 with a castle like length of 56 meters, a servant’s wing and a winter garden. In 1870, Spencer Wood was sold to the province of Quebec and was then home to the Lieutenant-Governor. A few modifications were made throughout the years, namely the fountain that we see today. The Spencer Wood estate was renamed Bois de Coulonge in 1950. In total, 21 Lieutenant Governors succeeded each other at this estate and the last one, Paul Comtois, died in the fire which destroyed the house in 1966, while trying to save the Blessed Sacrament from the private chapel. It was in 1986, after the estate was abandoned, that restoration was undertaken. Finally, the National Capital Commission of Québec became its owner in 1996.
Government House, also known as Springfield House, is the official residence of the Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis, current Sir Tapley Seaton.
Government House in Battleford, Saskatchewan served as the seat for the government of the Northwest Territories between 1878 and 1883 (the area that now makes up Saskatchewan was part of the Northwest Territories until the province was created in 1905). The building was constructed in 1877 and was destroyed by fire in 2003.
The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1973.
Government House, also known as Building No.1, Naval Station, Tutuila or Government House, U.S. Naval Station Tutuila, is a historic government building on the grounds of the former Naval Station Tutuila in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Built in 1903, it has served as a center of government on the island for much of the time since then. Government House was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990.
thumb|The inauguration in 1892 thumb|The building today
The Konak or Government House is an Ottoman-era building in central Thessaloniki, Greece. Originally built in 1891 as the residence ( konak) of the governor-general ( vali) of the Salonica Vilayet and the seat of the Ottoman authorities, it now houses the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace.
Government House is the former official residence of the Lieutenant Governors of Alberta. Located in Edmonton's Glenora neighbourhood, the restored and repurposed building is currently used by the Alberta provincial government for ceremonial events, conferences, etc. The Royal Alberta Museum is housed in a separate building on the same property, about a four kilometre walk from the Legislature northwest along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River on River Valley Road beside the Victoria Golf Course, itself first developed in 1896 and Canada's oldest city-run golf course.
The property for the house was purchased by the Province of Alberta in 1910, as well as the surrounding area. Construction on the building, intended from the outset to house the Lieutenant Governor, began in 1912, and the official opening was held on October 7, 1913. The three-storey building is constructed of sandstone in the Jacobean Revival style. It was used as a royal residence between its completion in 1913 and 1937; the Legislature cited economic concerns, as well as the closing of the Ontario Government House the year previous, as reasons for the closure. However, the closure also came soon after Lieutenant Governor John C. Bowen refused to grant Royal Assent to three controversial bills passed through the Legislative Assembly, and was, along with the removal of his support staff and official car, seen as an act of retaliation by Premier William Aberhart. The building was sold, and the furniture and fixtures were sold.
The building was used a boarding house for American pilots flying supplies up to the Alaska Highway and then was acquired by the federal government as military hospital during the Second World War. After the war the building was used as convalescent home for veterans. The house and grounds were returned to the provincial Crown in 1964. The grounds became the site for the Royal Alberta Museum. The building itself was extensively restored and reopened as conference center for the Alberta government. It has since hosted many important functions, including visits by Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John-Paul II.
Members of the Canadian Royal Family and visiting foreign dignitaries are greeted at the ceremonial porte-cochere. Inside are reception rooms, conference rooms and support facilities; it is here that the lieutenant governor presides over swearing-in ceremonies for Cabinet ministers. Every Thursday while the legislature is in session, the caucus of the governing party meets in the Alberta Room, a 100-seat conference room on the top floor.
While not in use, members of the public can take tours of the building at no cost. On display are artifacts and original pieces of furniture from the building's time as a residence and information is also provided about the building's restoration and current functions.
Until 2005, Alberta had separate buildings for the official residence, office, and entertaining venue for the viceroy. The lieutenant governor lived in a Crown owned house in the Glenora district of Edmonton (a single storey bungalow at 58 St Georges Crescent), while holding an office at the Legislative Assembly building, where Royal Assent is granted and where the lieutenant governor received the premier. The house in Glenora was demolished in 2005 and, as of 2008, there is no official residence for the lieutenant governor. Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong resided at another house near this house during his term.
Whenever the sovereign is in the provincial capital, he or she resides at a hotel, normally the Hotel Macdonald.
In 2011, the government of Alberta stated a new Government House would be constructed after 2015.
The Government House is located at 48 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida, adjacent to the Plaza de la Constitución. The building, constructed of coquina, served as the governor's official residence from ca. 1710, throughout the First Spanish Period (1565 -1763), the British Period (1763 - 1784) and until 1812 in the Second Spanish Period (1784 - 1821).
The east wing of the building dates to the original construction between 1706 and 1713, directly to the west of the house was the westernmost boundary of St. Augustine which was defended by the El Rosario Redoubt, a coquina fortification that was part of the Rosario Line, a defensive line which extended from Cubo Line which extended to the Castillo de San Marcos. During the British Period the house was the official residence of the British royal governor of East Florida James Grant (1764 - 1771) who received among his guests Daniel Boone who was in East Florida to inquire about land purchases, and his successor as governor, Patrick Tonyn. The last governor to use the house was Enrique White during the Second Spanish Period, who died in 1811.
By the time Florida joined the United States in 1821, the building was in ruins with only the walls remaining. It was redesigned by architect Robert Mills the designer of the Washington Monument incorporating the pre-existing walls.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Government House was used as a military hospital. After the American Civil War the building was used as a U.S. courthouse and customs house. In 1937, as project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Government House was enlarged and extensively remodeled for use by the U.S. Postal Service.
The State of Florida received title to the building in 1964 and used it as the headquarters for its local historic preservation effort. A history museum was created on the first floor of the building in 1991.
The Government House in New York, built in 1790 by the state, was intended to be the executive mansion for President George Washington, but he never occupied it. Before it was completed, the federal government moved temporarily to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; then permanently to Washington, D.C. It then became the state governor’s residence and was used by George Clinton and John Jay. Later it was leased to John Avery and was known as the Elysian Boarding House. After the passage of the Customs Administration Act in 1799, it was converted into the custom house. Parts of the building were later leased to the American Academy of Arts, who then offered space to the New-York Historical Society in 1809. In 1813, the property was sold to the city. In 1815, the land was sold to the public and the building demolished.