Lornado, Official residence in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, Canada
Lornado is a 32-room, two-and-a-half-storey limestone mansion on ten acres in Rockcliffe Park, designed by architect John Albert Ewart and built in 1908 for Warren Y. Soper. The house holds a central place on grounds with lawns, landscaped gardens, a greenhouse, maintenance buildings and a gatehouse, and it keeps its Edwardian character and much of its original interior decor.
Warren Y. Soper, an industrialist and founder of the Ottawa Electric Railway Company, built this house in 1908 and named it after the novel Lorna Doone. In 1935, the United States government acquired the property to serve as the official residence of the American ambassador.
The name comes from Lorna Doone, a novel its builder Warren Y. Soper admired. Since 1935 every Canadian prime minister has been received here, and the ambassador hosts an annual 4th of July party with both national anthems and the U.S. Marine Guards' Presentation of the Colors. The house is private; the gatehouse and tree screen are visible from Rockcliffe Road.
Lornado is a private residence and cannot be visited; the grounds are guarded by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The house is reached via Rockcliffe Road, a restricted access road, and the Manor Avenue entrance is off limits. It can be seen from outside, set among other diplomatic residences within walking distance of Rideau Hall.
The grounds include landscaped gardens with decorative shelters that reference the historic streetcar line once operated by the original owner. These details connect the property's past as a private mansion to its current diplomatic purpose.
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