Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council

The Langevin Block is a sandstone building defined by its heavy, Second Empire style and a massive, steeply pitched roof punctuated by dormer windows. Built in eighteen eighty-nine, it provided dedicated office space for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet for the first time in Canadian history. When Sir John A. Macdonald commissioned the structure, he intended it to project permanence and authority. He even insisted on its prominent placement across from Parliament Hill to ensure the executive branch remained visible from the legislative seat.