page_title: Former Geological Survey of Canada Building
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Former Geological Survey of Canada Building / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Former Geological Survey of Canada Building, Ottawa, Canada.
context_page_description: The Former Geological Survey of Canada Building is a three-storey, stone building located at the intersection of Sussex Drive and George Street in the Byward Market area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is named for its former occupant, the Geological Survey of Canada. The building was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1955 as it is one of the oldest remaining buildings in Ottawa, and over the years it has served as home to various public and cultural institutions.
context_section_description: The oldest part of the building (the George Street wing) was constructed in 1863 under the ownership of James Skead, a local businessman, and Edward Griffen. Griffen soon after sold his share to Skead and the building became known as Skead's Hotel. From 1864 to 1871, it was leased to the Crown and served as a military barracks, known as the George Street Barracks. It sat vacant for several years before being purchased in 1875 by restaurateur William Mills, who operated it for a few years as the Clarendon House Hotel. After numerous scandals, including the alleged assault of Mills' daughter by F. A. Martin, MPP for Ste. Agathe, Manitoba, the Clarendon was closed by 1877. 
  The Government of Canada purchased the property in 1879 to be used as the headquarters of the Geological Survey of Canada. 
  Soon after its purchase, the building hosted the inaugural exhibit of the Canadian Academy of Arts in March of 1880, with the works from this exhibit later forming the initial collection of the National Gallery of Canada. Later that year, the building was retrofitted to serve as the offices and museum of what was then called the Geological and Natural History Survey of Canada. The museum and its collections, which attracted 9,549 visitors in its first year, would later become the genesis of Canada’s national museums. 
  The Sussex Drive section was rebuilt in 1881 on its original footprint. The Geological Survey of Canada remained in the building until 1911 when it moved to the Victoria Memorial Museum. The building was renovated again, this time to accommodate the federal Department of Mines, and a new laboratory was added to the George Street wing in 1917.
caption: The Sussex Drive facade
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "COOLPIX S640", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385", "Image DateTime": "2010:09:26 08:46:05", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2346", "Image XPKeywords": "[79, 0, 116, 0, 116, 0, 97, 0, 119, 0, 97, 0, 32, 0, 83, 0, 101, 0, 112, 0, 116, 0, 32, 0, 50, 0, 48, 0, 49, 0, 48, 0, 0, 0]", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "7462", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4585", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/320", "EXIF FNumber": "27/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:09:25 10:35:58", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:09:25 10:35:58", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "29/10", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1536", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2048", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "7304", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "28", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "3858"}