The Dominion Hotel was a restaurant and hotel in the Corktown neighbourhood, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[2] As of February 2025, the building was closed for an extensive restoration after which it will reopen as a boutique hotel.[3]

Constructed in 1889, [4] the building is a heritage hotel structure,[5] and a designated heritage property.[6] Its first owner was Robert T. Davies, who founded the Dominion Brewery to the west of the building (now Dominion Square) in 1877. Davies had previously been the manager of the nearby Don Brewery, owned by his relative Thomas Davies.[7] The building's architect was David Roberts Jr. (1845-1907), who also designed the Gooderham Building (also known as the Flatiron Building) at 49 Wellington Street East.[3]

As originally constructed, the hotel was four stories tall, had a mansard roof, and a small tower.[6][8] The top floor, once "boasted an elegant performance space".[7] Sometime after 1945, the structure lost its fourth floor, mansard roof and tower. The hotel re-opened in 1998 as a bar.[7]

The bar closed in 2014 for renovation work. In mid-2015, FAB Restaurant Concepts purchased the bar and on November 31, 2015 it was re-opened as the Dominion Pub & Kitchen. The upper floors were used as a rooming house of 25 units.[9]

In 2021, ERA Architects was engaged to restore the building and convert it into a boutique hotel.[3] The renovated storefront would feature large windows, recessed entrances with wheelchair accessibility, large glazed openings, ornate transom windows, and a paneled base. Original interior finishes, such as metal ceiling tiles, wood paneling, and terrazzo floors, would be preserved. For the upper storeys, decorative cornices were replaced and sandstone was repaired.[10]

Dominion Hotel from Queen Street
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.

See also

Other boutique hotels in Toronto include:

References

  1. ^ "Roberts, David Jr". Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Shelly Sanders Greer (April 28, 2007). "Corktown bubbles up". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. 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.
  3. ^ a b c "After a restoration, the Dominion Hotel is ready for guests again". The Globe and Mail. February 18, 2025.
  4. ^ "Dominion on Queen". Beeradvocate. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013.
  5. ^ Derek Flack (January 5, 2011). "The lost hotels of Toronto". Blog TO. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Dominion Hotel". TO Built. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c David Kidd. "19th Century Toronto: Labour History Walking Tour" (PDF). Labour Council of Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2013. The Dominion Hotel, which originally boasted an elegant performance space on its top floor, reopened in 1998 as a bar.
  8. ^ "Dominion Hotel on Queen". Then and Now Toronto. May 13, 2011. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013.
  9. ^ "New pub moving into Dominion on Queen space". blogTO. June 30, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  10. ^ "The Historic Dominion Hotel/". ERA Architects. Archived from the original on February 24, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Hotel,_Toronto
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