Wellington Building
Encyclopedia
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was built between 1924 and 1927 as Canadian headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries...
. The original structure was designed by D. Everett Waid; in 1961 the more restrained east wing of the building was added.
It is located just south of the Parliament buildings
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
at the intersection of Wellington Street
Wellington Street
Wellington Street is a name of a street in:*Wellington Street , Ontario, Canada*Wellington Street, Hong Kong*Wellington Street, London, England*Wellington Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada*Wellington Street, Perth, Australia...
and Bank Street
Bank Street (Ottawa)
Bank Street is the major north-south road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs south from Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, south through the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Hunt Club, and then through the villages of Blossom Park, Leitrim, South...
with its southern face on Sparks Street
Sparks Street
Sparks Street is a street in downtown Ottawa, Canada that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1966, making it the earliest such street or mall in North America....
. It remained the home of Met Life until 1970 when the company moved to a new building to the south. It was bought by the federal government, and used as offices and for a time the home of the Canadian Postal Museum
Canadian Postal Museum
The Canadian Postal Museum is housed within the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. It has been described as one of the largest postal museums in the world, ranking second in annual attendance. The museum is not primarily about postage stamps, although it has a first-class...
. In 1984 a shortage of office space for the MPs resulted in some of them being moved to the building. This was the first time MPs had been housed outside of Parliament Hill.
The building currently houses the administration of the House of Commons (Human Resources, Finance). There are no longer MPs offices since the opening of the Justice Building
Justice Building
The Justice Building in Ottawa was previously home to the Department of Justice , and now houses offices of Members of Parliament. It is similar in design as the Confederation Building, to which it is just west....
across Wellington Street. The Wellington Building is scheduled to be completely renovated due to its age and an asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
problem.