Macdonald House, London
Macdonald House is a seven-storey building in Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, London that used to be part of the High Commission of Canada in London. Macdonald House was used for the cultural and consular functions, trade and administrative sections of the High Commission, the Immigration section as well as the High Commissioner's official residence. Previously, Macdonald House was the home of the American Embassy in London.
In 1936 the former (residential) buildings on this site were demolished as part of a redevelopment scheme led by the Duke of Westminster. The current building occupies numbers 1 to 3 on the eastern side of the square.[1]
The American embassy moved into the building in 1938. The current US embassy, also in Grosvenor Square, was completed in 1960. During the Second World War when the Chancery was on one side and U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters on another, Grosvenor Square became popularly known as "Little America", or "Eisenhowerplatz" ( this last, Germanic, form was a joke about Eisenhower's German-origin name).
The building was renamed Macdonald House in honour of Canada's first prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald, and was reopened by the Canadian High Commission on Dominion Day (July 1), 1961.
In December 2008 the Government of Canada revived plans previous to sell the chancery and purchase a building closer to Canada House in Trafalgar Square.[2]
In February 2010, the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper cancelled the sale for the third time.[3]
On December 20, 2010 the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade announced that Canada House, the High Commission's diplomatic, public and educational space in London, would close to undergo necessary renovations. It re-opened in 2012.
On November 28, 2013 the Canadian Federal Government announced that the building had been sold to an India-based developer (Lodha Group) for $530 million.[4][5]
Macdonald House was vacated in mid-December 2014 when all the services of the High Commission were regrouped in the expanded and refurbished Canada House on Trafalgar Square.
Gallery
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The entrance to Macdonald House
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Macdonald House
References
- ↑ Mayfair Blog: Canadian Embassy For Sale, MacDonald House Profiled
- ↑ http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Canada+selling+Macdonald+House+London/1082761/story.html
- ↑ http://business.highbeam.com/410547/article-1G1-219447422/canada-decommissions-selloff
- ↑ http://www.canada.com/ALERT+Government+sells+Canadian+High+Commission+London+more+than+million+CNBC+says/9224517/story.html
- ↑ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/canada-sells-high-commission-building-in-london/article15654917
External links
Coordinates: 51°30′41″N 0°08′59″W / 51.5115°N 0.1498°W
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