Viceregal Apartment
At the north-west corner of the building is the viceregal apartment of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, which has served in this capacity since 1937, when Ontario sold the province's government house to the federal Crown; the space was previously used as the Cabinet dining room and Speaker's apartment. The lieutenant governor's present suite is a three storey complex, with its own ceremonial porte-cochere entrance where members of the Canadian Royal Family and visiting foreign dignitaries are greeted; a rose garden, donated by the Monarchist League of Canada in honour of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977, sits in front of this porch. Inside are reception rooms, a state dining room, offices, and support facilities, arranged around a central stair hall. The furnishings and chandeliers throughout the suite came from the last government house, Chorley Park, and paintings come from the Ontario Art Collection and the Toronto Public Library. The Music Room is the largest space in the viceregal apartment, and it the site of the bi-annual New Years' Levée, swearing-in ceremonies for cabinet ministers, and presentations of and investitures for provincial honours.
Read more about this topic: Ontario Legislative Building
Famous quotes containing the word apartment:
“The difference of the English and Irish character is nowhere more plainly discerned than in their respective kitchens. With the former, this apartment is probably the cleanest, and certainly the most orderly, in the house.... An Irish kitchen ... is usually a temple dedicated to the goddess of disorder; and, too often, joined with her, is the potent deity of dirt.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)