King Edward Hotel

Toronto's King Edward Hotel (or the King Eddy) is a historic luxury hotel at 37 King Street East. It opened in 1903 and expanded with an 18 storey tower in 1922. It was conceived of by the Gooderham family to "stem the tide of development that was moving towards the newly opened City Hall at Bay and Queen Streets." Famous guests have included Mark Twain, Rudolph Valentino, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Margaret Thatcher, The Beatles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Britney Spears, and Ernest Hemingway. Richard Burton proposed to Liz Taylor in the Sovereign Ballroom there in 1964.

Besides the famous guests, the hotel was also known for its art collection (at a time likely worth $75 million in today's dollar) and the lavish Crystal Ballroom on the 17th and 18th floors which was closed in the late 1950's due to fire regulations - ironic as the hotel billed itself as "Absolutely fire proof" when it first opened.

For more information see:

• Wikipedia
• Official history page
• Blog postings with lots of great historic information

 
 

List of all subjects. You can also see all the historic photos for a given neighbourhood. We also have a list of all the photos arranged by date.

And you can also go up a level to see the other photos we've put under the category of hotels photos.

1907		King Edward Hotel interior Victoria Dinning Room? - complimentary dinner tendered by Sir John Eaton 117 years ago - St. Lawrence - 1907 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1910		Interior of the King Edward Hotel - Toronto Press Club dinner for Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson (1853 - 1937) actor and theatre manager 114 years ago - St. Lawrence - Tuesday, May 3, 1910 Max temp: 12.2°C - Min temp: 6.1°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the Library and Archives Canada)
1910		King Edward Hotel ballroom -Toronto Press Club dinner for Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson 114 years ago - St. Lawrence - Tuesday, May 3, 1910 Max temp: 12.2°C - Min temp: 6.1°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library)
1910		King Street, looking west from the John Catto and Son store before it was demolished for King Eddy expansion 114 years ago - St. Lawrence - 1910 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1913		King Edward Hotel with Mahers grey 4-in-hand horse drawn carriage 111 years ago - St. Lawrence - 1913 Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library)
1919		King Edward Hotel with glass canopy - before tower was added 105 years ago - St. Lawrence - 1919 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1921		King Edward Hotel covered overhang on King Street East, looking east from Yonge Street 103 years ago - St. Lawrence - Friday, May 20, 1921 Max temp: 30.6°C - Min temp: 8.3°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives)
1925		King Edward Hotel, exterior, King St. E., s. side, between Victoria St. & Leader Lane 99 years ago - St. Lawrence - 1925 Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library)