Cartier Square Armoury - Ottawa, Ontario
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N 45° 25.306 W 075° 41.371
18T E 446055 N 5030036
The Cartier Square Armoury / Drill Hall, built in 1879, is located at 29 Lisgar Street, in Ottawa, Ontario. Current occupants are the Governor General's Foot Guards and the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa.
Waymark Code: WM17TNG
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 04/03/2023
Views: 2
The Drill Hall at Cartier Square is a dedicated military training facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It has been a local landmark since its construction in 1879. The drill hall is 70 metres (230 ft) long and has two 43-metre-tall (141 ft) mansard towers.
The hall is located on the bank of the Rideau Canal just south of Laurier Avenue. The area to the west was once a large open field used for drilling, but today is the location of the Ottawa City Hall and courthouse.
The building was designed by Thomas Seaton Scott, first chief architect of the Dominion of Canada. The building is a rare surviving example of a military training facility built in the immediate post-confederation era when establishing a military presence and asserting the role of the federal government were important government aims.
Lieutenant Paul Weatherbee (1869-1925), who was appointed Chief Architect and Engineer from 1897-1905, was responsible for overseeing the design and construction of militia and defence buildings in Canada which were not designed by the Department of Public Works, for which Thomas Fuller, Chief Dominion Architect, was responsible. Weatherbee supervised and inspected militia buildings, and designed munitions stores buildings, often erected adjacent to drill halls. The largest of these works was located at the rear of the Cartier Square Drill Hall, measuring 150 by 70 feet (46 m × 21 m), and was used for the storage of weapons, uniforms, and ammunition.
In the Canadian Forces, an armoury is a place where a reserve unit trains, meets, and parades. Today the Drill Hall remains home to the GGFG and The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own). Both of these units are active components of Canada's Primary Reserve, providing trained volunteer soldiers to augment the Regular Army in peace and war. Each day during the summer months, it is from the Drill Hall that the Ceremonial Guard departs to initiate the Changing the Guard ceremony on Parliament Hill.
The 2784 Governor General's Foot Guards Army Cadets (RCAC), also parade at Cartier Square Drill Hall on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
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