Bellevue House
Just a few blocks north from Kingston's Lake Ontario waterfront at 35 Centre Street, about a mile from downtown Kingston, is Bellevue House, a National Historic Site of Canada.
For a time, this lovely home, built in the "Italianate Villa" style, housed Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.
Bellevue House was built sometime in the early 1840s for a gentleman named Charles Hales, a Kingston businessman.
Sir John A. Macdonald spoke of it as "the most fantastic concern imaginable." Other not so friendly names for this unique edifice were "Tea Caddy Castle", "Molasses Hall", and "Pekoe Pagoda."
Photo: View of Bellevue House from the sidewalk in front.
It is said that he wrote of the "...complete quiet and seclusion of the house, which is completely surrounded by trees and has a fresh breeze ever blowing on it from Lake Ontario..." that, he hoped, would bring about an improvement in his wife, who was quite sick at the time.
Photo: Looking south on Centre Street from in front of Bellevue House. The view of the lake isn't there, but the lake is, just behind the houses at the end of the street.
Bellevue House was away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Kingston, being a whole mile away. It was on a big piece of property with lots of trees and views of the lake. There were neighbours nearby but every house had big gardens around it. The air was clean. It was a restful place for Isabella to try to recover her health. Nowadays Bellevue House is still surrounded by trees, there are nearby neighbours, but there is not view of Lake Ontario. Other homes along the lakeshore block the view.
Unfortunately, Isabella's health continued to be precarious. In September 1849, the Macdonalds left their cherished Bellevue House and moved to smaller quarters in downtown Kingston, this a result of Sir John's difficult personal financial situation.
According to Wikipedia..."Bellevue House, today, is a National Historic Site of Canada owned and operated by the Canadian federal government under the auspices of Parks Canada. It is the only National Historic Site in Canada where Sir John A. Macdonald is commemorated as Canada's first Prime Minister, emphasizing both its importance to the Canadian national identity and as one of the main tourist attractions in the historic city of Kingston, Ontario.
Groups and casual visitors visit the house and grounds on a daily basis for a small admission fee, and experience innovative interpretation techniques meant to bring alive what life was like for the Macdonalds as a middle-class family living in Kingston in the 1840s.
The Visitor Welcome Centre, located on the site of what was the old coach house beside Bellevue at 35 Centre St. in Kingston, welcomes visitors with an introductory multilingual video, a display area filled with artifacts related to Sir John A., and a gift shop. Visitors are welcome to look around, take a photo with a life-size Sir John, and then continue on to the historic house where both guided and self-guided tours are available from interpreters dressed accurately as gentlemen and maids from the 1840s time period.
While it's been a few years since I visited Bellevue House, at one time my children's photos were featured in the entry as they had visited Sir John A's home and had their photos taken there.
Bellevue House is open year round with reservations. Costumed staff are on duty April through October with varying hours depending on the time of year.
More information:
Bellevue House National Historic Site of Canada
35 Centre Street, Kingston
Tel: 613-545-8666 (during normal business hours)
Visit Parks Canada website & follow the links: http://parkscanada.gc.ca
