Connaught Building, Ottawa, Ontario

This handsome Tudor-Gothic building is prominently located in central Ottawa, near Major’s Hill Park, the Parliament Buildings, and the Château Laurier. It is named for His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, who was governor-general at the time of its construction. The Connaught Building was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1990 for its splendid architecture and as a tangible expression of Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s commitment to the enhancement of architecture in the nation’s capital.

As Prime Minister, Laurier aimed to transform Ottawa into a more imposing national capital and supported a federal building program led by David Ewart, Chief Architect of the Department of Public Works (1897-1914). Under Ewart’s direction, a modified Tudor-Gothic style, compatible with the buildings on Parliament Hill and thought to be appropriate for a capital associated with the British Empire, was used to build a strong, cohesive federal identity in Canada’s capital. The Connaught Building is among Ewart’s finest achievements in uniting Tudor-Gothic styling with Beaux-Arts principles. Built in 1913-1916, it is also the last of a group of major federal buildings designed by Ewart for the capital before the First World War, including: the Former Archives Building (1904-1906), the Royal Canadian Mint (1905-1911), and the former Victoria Memorial Museum (1905-1911).

The Connaught Building is distinguished by its rectangular massing with slightly projecting central and end pavilions; the expression of Beaux-Arts principles, evident in its symmetrically organized facade with central main entry; its focus on the main entry under a high tower elaborated with Tudor-Revival style detailing, and its use of contemporary structural design of steel and concrete with stone cladding. Specifically Tudor-Gothic detailing includes: Tudor-arched openings, oriole bays, turrets, gables, predominantly rough-faced stonework, and decorative stonework as in corner quoins, false buttresses, crenellations, spandrels, coats of arms, rosettes, niches, trefoils, and finely articulated lintels.

When it was first built, the Connaught Building was one of the largest buildings in the city and Chief Architect Ewart considered it to be his finest work in the capital. Today, it is home to the Canada Revenue Agency.

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