Château Laurier
Encyclopedia
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a landmark hotel
in Downtown
Ottawa
, Ontario
located near the intersection of Rideau Street
and Sussex Drive
designed in the Châteauesque
style.
president Charles Melville Hays
, and was constructed between 1909 and 1912 in tandem with Ottawa's downtown Union Station (now the Government Conference Centre
) across the street.
The plans for the hotel initially generated some controversy as the Château was to be constructed on what was then a portion of Major's Hill Park
. Sir Wilfrid Laurier
, then the Prime Minister of Canada
, helped secure the important site for the construction, and the hotel was eventually named in his honour. Laurier's government was also subsidizing the Grand Trunk Railway's Pacific Line
. Further conflict ensued when the original architect, Bradford Gilbert
, from New York was dismissed due to disagreements with Grand Trunk executives, and the Montreal
firm of Ross and Macfarlane
was hired to complete the design.
The hotel was to be opened on 26 April 1912, but Hays, who was returning to Canada for the hotel opening, perished aboard the RMS Titanic when it sank on 15 April. A subdued opening ceremony was held on 12 June 1912, with Sir Wilfrid Laurier in attendance.
When the Grand Trunk became part of the Canadian National Railway
in 1923, the Château Laurier became one of CN's most important hotels. For years, the hotel thrived, playing host to royalty, heads of state, political figures, celebrities and members of Canada's elite. R.B. Bennett lived in a suite in the hotel during his term as Canadian prime minister, from 1930 to 1935.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the construction of numerous competing hotels in the capital, as well as the closure of Union Station, led to a slow decline in the Château's fortunes. Significant work was undertaken in the 1980s to refurbish and renovate the Château Laurier, however, thus restoring its position as Ottawa's pre-eminent hotel.
The hotel was operated by Canadian National Hotels
until the chain was purchased by Canadian Pacific Hotels
in 1988. In 1999, it was renamed the Fairmont Château Laurier after Canadian Pacific Hotels bought the American Fairmont hotel chain and changed its name to Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
.
In addition to hotel guests, the Château Laurier has also served over the years as the home of two important Ottawa institutions. From July 1924 to October 2004, the seventh and eight floors at the top were home to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
's local English and French language radio stations (a legacy that commenced when the Canadian National Railway established Ottawa's first radio station). Yousuf Karsh
, one of the world's most renowned portrait photographers, maintained his studio and residence at the Château Laurier for many years.
The hotel is just metres away from some of the capital's most important landmarks including Parliament Hill
, the Rideau Canal
, the National Gallery of Canada
, the Byward Market
, the National War Memorial
, the U.S. Embassy
, and the Rideau Centre
. Given its proximity to these buildings and the fact that it has served as a home and meeting place for many notable political figures over the years, the hotel has often been referred to as "the third chamber of Parliament".
The hotel was the inspiration for the "Hotel du Canada" at the Canada (Epcot)
pavilion in Orlando, Florida. In 2000, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
chose the building as one of the top 500 buildings produced in Canada during the last millennium.
The Château Laurier Hotel is said to be haunted, with numerous guests reporting to have seen the ghost of Charles Melville Hays and experiencing paranormal activities. Stories of the haunting began when Charles Melville Hays died on his return voyage on the RMS Titanic from Europe 12 days before the hotel's opening. Stories suggests that Hays' ghost rests within the hotel due to its significant importance to his life, and the fact that he never witnessed the grand opening due to his death. Guests have also reported seeing the ghost of a small child, and experiences the feeling of "being watched" the moment they enter the hotel. Other guests have also reported eerie sounds from the hotel and unexplained shaking.
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Downtown
Downtown Ottawa
Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Like other downtowns it is the commercial and economic centre of the city. It is sometimes referred to as the Central Business District and contains Ottawa's financial district. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the...
Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
located near the intersection of Rideau Street
Rideau Street
Rideau Street is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier district...
and Sussex Drive
Sussex Drive
Sussex Drive is a major street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's major ceremonial and institutional routes....
designed in the Châteauesque
Châteauesque
Châteauesque is one of several terms, including Francis I style, and, in Canada, the Château Style, that refer to a revival architectural style based on the French Renaissance architecture of the monumental French country homes built in the Loire Valley from the late fifteenth century to the...
style.
History
Château Laurier was commissioned by Grand Trunk RailwayGrand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
president Charles Melville Hays
Charles Melville Hays
Charles Melville Hays was an American railway executive of the Grand Trunk Railway. He died at sea on the RMS Titanic.-Early years:...
, and was constructed between 1909 and 1912 in tandem with Ottawa's downtown Union Station (now the Government Conference Centre
Government Conference Centre
The Government Conference Centre is a government building in downtown Ottawa, Canada, located at 2 Rideau Street. It is situated at the intersection of Wellington Street and the Rideau Canal, just a short distance from the Parliament buildings and Confederation Square, and across the street from...
) across the street.
The plans for the hotel initially generated some controversy as the Château was to be constructed on what was then a portion of Major's Hill Park
Major's Hill Park
Major's Hill Park is one of the most notable parks in downtown Ottawa. The park stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River. Across the canal to the west are the parliament buildings, to the north of the park is the National Gallery of Canada, and to the east are...
. Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
, then the Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, helped secure the important site for the construction, and the hotel was eventually named in his honour. Laurier's government was also subsidizing the Grand Trunk Railway's Pacific Line
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
. Further conflict ensued when the original architect, Bradford Gilbert
Bradford Gilbert
Bradford Lee Gilbert was a nationally-active architect based in New York City.Gilbert is best known for designing the first steel-framed curtain wall building, the Tower Building, which opened at 50 Broadway in 1889. The Tower Building is considered New York City's first skyscraper...
, from New York was dismissed due to disagreements with Grand Trunk executives, and the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
firm of Ross and Macfarlane
Ross and Macdonald
Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the firm originally operated as a partnership between George Allen Ross and David MacFarlane from 1907 to 1912. MacFarlane retired in 1913, and Robert Henry Macdonald...
was hired to complete the design.
When the Grand Trunk became part of the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
in 1923, the Château Laurier became one of CN's most important hotels. For years, the hotel thrived, playing host to royalty, heads of state, political figures, celebrities and members of Canada's elite. R.B. Bennett lived in a suite in the hotel during his term as Canadian prime minister, from 1930 to 1935.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the construction of numerous competing hotels in the capital, as well as the closure of Union Station, led to a slow decline in the Château's fortunes. Significant work was undertaken in the 1980s to refurbish and renovate the Château Laurier, however, thus restoring its position as Ottawa's pre-eminent hotel.
The hotel was operated by Canadian National Hotels
Canadian National Hotels
Canadian National Hotels was a hotel chain under control by Canadian National Railways. In addition to their own hotels, it acquired some from rival railway companies like the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Grand Trunk Railway and Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway...
until the chain was purchased by Canadian Pacific Hotels
Canadian Pacific hotels
Canadian Pacific Hotels was a division of Canadian Pacific Railway that operated a series of hotels across Canada. Most of these resort hotels were originally built and operated by the railway's Hotel Department, while a few were acquired from Canadian National Hotels...
in 1988. In 1999, it was renamed the Fairmont Château Laurier after Canadian Pacific Hotels bought the American Fairmont hotel chain and changed its name to Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a Canadian-based operator of luxury hotels and resorts. Currently, Fairmont operates properties in 18 countries including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, United Kingdom, Monaco, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, the...
.
In addition to hotel guests, the Château Laurier has also served over the years as the home of two important Ottawa institutions. From July 1924 to October 2004, the seventh and eight floors at the top were home to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
's local English and French language radio stations (a legacy that commenced when the Canadian National Railway established Ottawa's first radio station). Yousuf Karsh
Yousuf Karsh
Yousuf Karsh, CC was a Canadian photographer of Armenian heritage, and one of the most famous and accomplished portrait photographers of all time.-Biography:...
, one of the world's most renowned portrait photographers, maintained his studio and residence at the Château Laurier for many years.
The hotel is just metres away from some of the capital's most important landmarks including Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
, the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
, the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
, the Byward Market
Byward Market
ByWard Market is a district in Lower Town located east of the government & business district, surrounding the market buildings and open-air market on George, York, ByWard and William Streets.The district is bordered on the west by Sussex Drive, on the...
, the National War Memorial
National War Memorial (Canada)
The National War Memorial , is a tall granite cenotaph with acreted bronze sculptures, that stands in Confederation Square, Ottawa, and serves as the federal war memorial for Canada....
, the U.S. Embassy
Embassy of the United States in Ottawa
The United States Embassy in Ottawa is a building located in Ottawa which opened in 1999.-Original mission:Before this date the mission occupied a 1930s era building directly across from Parliament Hill at 100 Wellington Street...
, and the Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street , the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and Nicholas Street....
. Given its proximity to these buildings and the fact that it has served as a home and meeting place for many notable political figures over the years, the hotel has often been referred to as "the third chamber of Parliament".
The hotel was the inspiration for the "Hotel du Canada" at the Canada (Epcot)
Canada (Epcot)
The Canada Pavilion is part of World Showcase within Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.-Layout:The Canada Pavilion is designed to remind guests of the Canadian outdoors. It includes a canyon, a waterfall, gardens, a pool with fountains, and totem poles. The main attraction is O...
pavilion in Orlando, Florida. In 2000, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada , founded in 1907, is a Canadian association representing over 3,600 architects, and faculty and graduates of Canadian Schools of Architecture.RAIC is the voice for architecture and its practice in Canada...
chose the building as one of the top 500 buildings produced in Canada during the last millennium.
Haunting
See also
- Russell House (Ottawa) - the Château Laurier succeeded the Russell as Ottawa's premier hotel
- List of designated heritage properties in Ottawa