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Royal York Hotel
The precursor to the Royal York
Before it was the home of the Royal York Hotel, the Queen’s Hotel previously stood at this location on Front Street. Originally built as a series of row houses, Patrick Sword renovated the building into a hotel in 1856. In 1862, Captain Thomas Dick bought the hotel and changed the name to the Queen’s Hotel. The Queen’s Hotel quickly became one of the most popular hotels in the city. Guests of the hotel included John A. Macdonald and U.S. President William Taft.
The Queen’s Hotel had a number of amenities that had not been seen before at a hotel in Toronto. It was one of the first hotels to have a telephone and an elevator. The hotel also had a botanical garden and croquet ground located on its east side. It was also beside Toronto’s first zoo, Piper’s Zoological Gardens, which famously had the carcass of a whale as one of its main attractions. In 1927, the Canadian Pacific Corporation purchased the hotel for one million dollars.
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Royal York Hotel
Railroad Hotels
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) constructed the Royal York Hotel in 1929 as part of the CPR’s massive resort hotel chain. With the construction of the railroad, many areas of Canada became more accessible to the public. Railroads built businesses along the line that catered to railroad customers. Early examples included restaurants where passengers could get food quickly before returning to their travels. As a way of not only providing lodging, but to also promote rail travel, CPR began building a number of luxury hotels along the line.
Starting in 1888, the company built some of Canada’s most famous hotels, including the Château Frontenac in Québec and Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta. CPR was not the only railroad to build hotels. Both the Grand Trunk and Canadian National Railways also created hotels along their railroads. However, by 1988, CPR had purchased the majority of its competitors’ hotels. In 1999, Fairmont acquired the CPR hotels. All but four are still operated by the company today.
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Royal York Hotel
A state-of-the-art hotel
When it first opened, the Royal York was the largest building in Toronto and the largest hotel in the British Commonwealth. The hotel originally had 1080 rooms, but within a year CPR needed to construct an additional wing to help with increased demand. The company further expanded the hotel in 1959.
Like its predecessor, the hotel offered guests a number of unique amenities. This included hot running water in every room, which was rather uncommon at the time. The hotel also featured a ballroom, library, and twelve hospital beds for sick guests. CPR also operated an exclusive golf course located in Etobicoke specifically for guests of the Royal York. The golf course still operates today as a private golf club.
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Royal York Hotel
The grand opening
The Royal York Hotel officially opened on June 11, 1929. To celebrate, CPR held a 2000-person gala. The gala was a star-studded event with politicians and Toronto’s elite all in attendance. The Governor General of Canada at the time, the Marquess of Willingdon, became the hotel’s official first customer and ceremoniously signed the hotel’s guest book. After a meal in the dining room, the party concluded with dancing in the ballroom.
Today, the Royal York still acts as one of Toronto’s premier hotels. It also serves as the official residence for the royal family when they travel to Toronto. The hotel’s restaurant, which opened in 2019, also reflects the hotel’s ties to the railroad, as its design was inspired by railway dining cars.
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Royal York Hotel
Additional Resources
Craig Baird, “The Grand Railway Hotels”, Canadian History Ehx, 2021.
Chris Batemen, “The History of the Front Street Zoo in Toronto”, BlogTO, 2011.
Denise Harris, “History of St. George’s golf club”, Etobicoke Historical Society, 2014.
Drek Flack, “A visual history of the Royal York hotel, BlogTO, 2011.
Queens Hotel, “The Queen’s Toronto” [promotional book], Toronto, 1897
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