Royal York Hotel History

1213 Words3 Pages

The Fairmont Royal York Hotel or the Royal York Hotel has been a significant part of the Toronto skyline since 1929, and continues to be an important piece of history and architecture today. The Hotel is located centrally in downtown providing direct access to Union Station across the street. It wasn't until 1999 that the Royal York Hotel was renamed to the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The property that houses the Hotel has been the location of housing accommodations since 1838. In 1838, the first set of accommodations were in the form of Row Houses facing Front Street called the Ontario Terrace these housed Knox College. In 1853, the building was renovated and renamed to the Swords Hotel. By the 1860's the hotel was again renamed, this time …show more content…

It is to the credit of the architects, Messrs. Ross & Macdonald, of Montreal, with whom were associated Messrs. Sproatt & Rolph, of Toronto, that they have not only succeeded in designing a modern and complete hotel for that most enterprising of Canadian corporations – the Canadian Pacific Railway – but they have also provided the city of Toronto with a monument that its citizens may well be proud of." (Royal York Hotel 75th anniversary commemorated with Ontario Heritage Foundation plaque unveiling, …show more content…

The hotel also adds to the streetscape by providing an aesthetically pleasing pedestrian experience, by utilizing beautiful awnings and lighting. The interior of the hotel beautifully shows how to execute rhythm and contrast by use of columns; a perfect example is through the main lobby. The columns are perfectly uniform and made of white marble with beautifully decorated gold painted capitals and dark base. The main lobby features white marble columns and floors, off-white walls, with cast iron rails and a dark coffered wood ceiling, this makes the room extremely pleasing to the observer. The transitions between rooms/sections of the hotel are seamless as they are generally subtle but are certainly significant, the transitions between floors is a little more evident if climbing the stairs, however if using the elevator one would not notice the transition. Throughout the Hotel columns, arches and delicate floral decorations create an ambiance that ties all parts of the hotel together. Individual floors feature all the same characteristics mentioned above but are set apart by the use of colour; the use of the off-white walls are used on guest room floors with bold paneling occasionally

More about Royal York Hotel History

Open Document