Embassy of Canada, Washington, D.C.

The Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. (Ambassade du Canada à Washington) is Canada's main diplomatic mission to the United States. The embassy building is at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. between the Capitol and the White House, just north of the National Gallery of Art. In addition to its diplomatic role, the Embassy handles consular services and assists with international business development for the surrounding states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.HistoryThe Embassy of Canada was at 1746 Massachusetts Avenue on Embassy Row, in a house that had been purchased in 1927 from the widow of Clarence Moore, a financier who was killed in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Today, the house is the Embassy of Uzbekistan.By 1969, the chancery had spread across three buildings and could not accommodate additional staff. At the same time, the federally chartered Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation was looking to revitalize the avenue. In 1978, the Canadian government purchased a vacant lot on Pennsylvania for $5 million. The site had been a Ford dealership (built in 1916 by Irwin and Leighton as Ford Service Building) and a public library. The six floor building was demolished before it was purchased by Canada.