Dominion Hotel, Toronto

Dominion Hotel
General information
Address 498 Queen Street East
Town or city Toronto
Country Canada
Coordinates 43°39′25″N 79°21′33″W / 43.65694°N 79.35917°WCoordinates: 43°39′25″N 79°21′33″W / 43.65694°N 79.35917°W
Completed 1889
Design and construction
Architect David Roberts Jr.[1]

The Dominion Hotel is one of the oldest remaining hotels in downtown Toronto,[2] Ontario. Constructed in the late nineteenth century in the Corktown neighbourhood,[3] it is a historic hotel structure that has not been torn down and replaced with a modern structure.[4] Its first owner was Robert T. Davies, a relative of Thomas Davies, who founded the nearby Don Brewery.[5] The hotel was constructed in 1889.[6] As originally constructed, the hotel was four stories tall, had a mansard roof, and a small tower.[7][8] The top floor, once "boasted an elegant performance space".[5] Sometime after 1945 the structure lost its fourth floor, mansard roof and tower.

The building reopened as a bar in 1998.[5]

The structure is a designated heritage property.[8]

Sumach façade of the Dominion Hotel
The Dominion Hotel on the northwest corner of Queen Street East and Sumach Street.
This is as the building appeared in 1945, with the fourth floor and its mansard roof and corner tower still intact. The building now has a flat roof.

References

  1. ↑ "Roberts, David Jr.". Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. Retrieved March 2013.
  2. ↑ Historic Queen East BIA
  3. ↑ Shelly Sanders Greer (2007-04-28). "Corktown bubbles up". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25. Corktown also had Toronto's first Roman Catholic church, the Dominion Hotel, and was one of the entry points for some slaves escaping the United States by boat via the Underground Railroad.
  4. ↑ Derek Flack (2011-01-05). "The lost hotels of Toronto". Blog TO. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 David Kidd. "19th Century Toronto: Labour History Walking Tour". Labour Council of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25. The Dominion Hotel, which originally boasted an elegant performance space on its top floor, reopened in 1998 as a bar.
  6. ↑ "Dominion on Queen". Beeradvocate. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25. Tucked away past Yonge Street, before the DVP on the part of Queen Street Toronto forgot, this little gem of a bar first came into existence as the Dominion Hotel in 1889. Conveniently this hotel also had a brewery attached to it which kept its bar and lounge well stocked. Today the hotel and brewery are toast but the bar is still there serving up fine local beer and food.
  7. ↑ "Dominion Hotel on Queen". Then and Now Toronto. 2011-05-13. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Dominion Hotel". TO Built. Archived from the original on 2013-03-25.

External links

Media related to Dominion Hotel (Toronto) at Wikimedia Commons