Fairmont Royal York

The Fairmont Royal York, formerly the Royal York, is a large historic hotel in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at 100 Front Street West. Opened on June 11, 1929, the Royal York was designed by Ross and Macdonald (with Sproatt and Rolph) and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway across the street from Toronto Union Station. With 28 floors, the Château-style building was the tallest building in Toronto at that time, and the tallest building in the British Empire until the construction of Canadian Bank of Commerce tower on King Street the following year.

The underground walkways linking the hotel with the Royal Bank Plaza and Union Station form part of the PATH walkway system.

History

The former Queen's Hotel, demolished to make way for the Royal York.

Royal York circa 1930

Royal York exterior

The Royal York is the third hotel and one of several establishments to occupy the site.

In 1843, Captain Thomas Dick built the Ontario Terrace at this site.^[5] It consisted of four brick houses, and was later occupied by Knox College, a theological school.

Following refurbishment in 1853, the building was renamed the Sword's Hotel, and then the Revere Hotel after a change in ownership in 1860. Thomas Dick bought the hotel back in 1862, renovated it again, and named it Queen's Hotel.^[6]

Later, the Queen's Hotel was purchased by Thomas McGaw and Henry Winnett, hoteliers of Upper Canada, who also owned the Queen's Royal Hotel in Niagara on the Lake.^[7] Upon McGaw's death in 1901, Winnett acquired McGaw's interests in their hotels. After Winnett died in 1925, his estate sold the Queen's Hotel to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), run by then-president Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty.

Later, Canadian Pacific announced its intention to demolish the Queen's Hotel to build the largest hotel in the British Commonwealth on its site. Prior to its demolition, the Queen's Hotel was billed as "One of the largest and most comfortable hotels in the Dominion of Canada."^[8]

Construction on the new hotel began in 1927. The building was completed in 1929, and named the Royal York. It was a state-of-the-art hotel for its time, with ten elevators to reach all twenty-eight floors with radios and private showers and bathtubs in each of its 1,048 rooms. The telephone switchboard was 20 metres (66 ft) long, and required 35 operators. Other facilities included a bank, golf course, and a large Concert Hall outfitted with an impressive Casavant Frères pipe organ.^[9] With five manuals and one-hundred-and-seven stops, it was the largest pipe organ in Canada.^[9] The new hotel cost $16 million when built.^[10]

The building was officially opened on June 11, 1929 by Lord Willingdon in "one of the most glittering social events in Toronto's history".^[11] The Toronto Board of Trade hosted a luncheon in the hotel's banquet hall for E.W. Beatty and the board of directors of the Canadian Pacific Railway. After the luncheon, the Governor-General registered as the first guest of the hotel. During the afternoon, guides showed guests around the hotel. The day finished off with an opening ball at 9 PM ^[12] (with over 2300 people attending ^[13]). Several politicians and other notable people from the USA and Canada attended the opening of the hotel.^[12] The opening of the hotel was front page news in the Montreal Gazette on June 12, 1929.^[13]

The hotel had 19 800 square feet of Canadian linoleum flooring upon opening.^[14]

From 1930 to 1936, a radio station operated from the hotel. Its call letters were CPRY (for “Canadian Pacific Royal York”). Broadcasting from the Imperial Room, CPRY programs were heard across the country.^[15][16]

The hotel was enlarged during 1956-57, with the addition of the east wing which increased the total rooms to 1,600.^[5]

The hotel underwent an extensive renovation program in 1972 and 1973 to modernize its image. Called the Royal York Revelation, the program was overseen by the architects Webb Zerafa Menkes Housden (who also designed the Royal Bank plaza next to the hotel). The renovation cut a hole in the main-floor lobby for a spiral staircase, covered the marble pillars in the lobby with wood panelling, hung modern wall lamps and a chandelier and replaced rugs with carpet.^[16]

From 1988 until 1993, the Royal York underwent a $100-million restoration that restored the hotel's original elegance. Guest rooms and public spaces were refurbished, while new amenities were added, including: a health club, a lap pool, and the first-ever American Express Travel Service Centre. As of 2015 the hotel has six restaurants.^[17]

One of the hotel's larger features was the Imperial Room, a nightclub that attracted top musicians between the 1940s to the 1990s, including Marlene Dietrich, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Ray Charles, Liberace, and Tina Turner.^[18] The Imperial Room closed during the major renovation of the 1990s, and it was refurbished to become a large ballroom and meeting hall.^[19]

On October 28, 2014, it was announced the hotel would undergo another round of renovations following a reorganization of its ownership.^[20]

Recognition

The hotel has been the residence of choice for Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Canadian Royal Family when in Toronto. The Queen usually has an entire floor reserved for her and her entourage, occupying the Royal Suite herself.^[5]

The hotel is recognized as part of the Union Station Heritage Conservation District (Designated Part V) under the Ontario Heritage Act enacted by Toronto City Council on July 27, 2006.^[21]

Honey Bees

In June 2008, the Royal York installed three beehives on its fourteenth-floor rooftop terrace to serve its in-house garden, which provides its restaurants with fresh herbs, vegetables, and flowers.^[22] Approximately 350,000 honey bees provide several hundred pounds of honey each year, including 800 pounds (360 kg) in 2011.^[23]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal York Hotel.

• Monarchy in Ontario
• Hotels in Toronto

References

External links

• The Fairmont Royal York official website