Toronto's Historical Plaques
Learn a little of Toronto's history as told through its plaques.
The Royal York Hotel
At 100 Front Street West stands the massive Royal York Hotel. Two plaques attached to the building tell us about its history. Here is the text of the Ontario Heritage Foundation plaque:
Built on the site of the Queen's Hotel by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1928-29, the Royal York Hotel was part of its coast-to-coast chain of grand hotels. The skyscraper hotel, designed by Montreal architects Ross and Macdonald in association with Sproatt and Rolph of Toronto, was the largest hotel in the British Commonwealth and dramatically altered the Toronto skyline. Inside, attractive rooms - from the classicism of the 1928-29 interior to the 1957-59 extension decorated in Canadian themes - have provided the setting for conventions, entertainers, cocktails, teas, debutante balls and royal visits. Together with Union Station to the south and the Dominion Public Building to the southeast, the Royal York Hotel has created one of the finest streetscapes in the provincial capital.
Location Co-ordinates: 43.645602 -79.381489
Photo by Alan L Brown - July 2004
Here is the text of the 1979 Toronto Historical Board plaque:
This hotel stands on town lots granted in 1798 to William Drummer Powell, who built a log house on the site in 1812. Brick houses built here in 1844 by Captain Thomas Dick later became Sword's Hotel. Renamed the Queen's Hotel in 1862, it was enlarged several times before being demolished in 1927. The lot at York and Front streets was used by a travelling circus, and, in 1880s was the site of Alderman Harry Piper's zoo. The Royal York, opened on 11 June 1929, was the largest hotel in the British Empire and dominated the Toronto skyline for almost half a century. It was designed by the firm of Ross, Patterson, Townsend & Fish, who also added the east wing in 1959. The hotel provided Toronto's first major convention centre and has played an important role in the social life of the city. During its fifty years the Royal York has upheld the finest traditions of a grand hotel and remains the largest in the Commonwealth.
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