Gladstone Hotel (Toronto)
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The Gladstone Hotel was built in 1889 and named after Gladstone Avenue, next to the hotel. The Parkdale area hotel is a west Toronto landmark designed by local architect G.M. Miller in the Romanesque Revival style.
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[edit] History
The Gladstone Hotel is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Toronto. It was originally built in 1889 as a stylish hostelry across from the then existing Parkdale railroad station which serviced the Grand Trunk, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), and the Canadian National Railway (CNR) companies.
The location of the Gladstone Hotel, just east of Dufferin on Queen Street West, was one considered the western edge of Toronto and it provided accommodations to travelers from the Parkdale train station as well as visitors and exhibitors at the Canadian National Exhibition.
The original owner Susanna Robinson was a widow who operated and lived at the hotel with her 13 children. In fact, the hotel as always been operated as a family enterprise and continues to do so today under current ownership of the Zeidler family.
The Gladstone was named for Gladstone Avenue, which was named after English prime minister William Gladstone. The hotel's monthly newsletter, the Gladstone Bag, is named for the suitcase style, also named for William Gladstone.
The Gladstone was one of the first ten hotels in Ontario to receive permission to allow patrons to drink and play shuffleboard in a licensed alcoholic area. At one time the Gladstone Hotel was the last place to obtain hard liquor before reaching Hamilton.
[edit] Architecture
The hotel was designed by George Miller, the architect of the Lillian Massey building of the University of Toronto, many other public buildings in the city, as well as a large number of formerly grand residential buildings in the Parkdale neighbourhood. The building permit was issued in September 1889 for a value of $30,000.
The Hotel was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style - in the period a popular style for public buildings such as train depots, churches, and libraries. The architectural style of the Gladstone is characterized by the rough cut stone and brick and by the dramatic arches over the windows and porch entrances. The Hotel tower is also characteristic of the style. The cupola was removed in 1930 due to disrepair.
The Gladstone is a fine example of a Victorian Hotel with intact plaster moldings in the grand hallways. The two restored pillars in the hotel's Melody Bar are unique in Toronto in that their faux marble finish was rendered in true European fresco technique. No other architectural pillars such as these exist in Toronto. The meticulously restored Victorian elevator is one of the last hand-operated elevators in Toronto
Zeidler Partnership and Eb Zeidler were the architects for the historic restoration of the hotel.
[edit] Recent Social History
The Gladstone Hotel is currently owned by the Zeidler family. Their historic restoration of the property reflects the hotel's architectural and community history.
The Zeidler family was concerned about the well-being of the existing residents of the hotel and took an interest in supporting them and helping them find new homes in the community prior to beginning the restoration project. The family provided financial support and the employees at the hotel worked to find homes for the most elderly and at risk. Some of the former residents now live at the Parkview Arms Hotel, down Queen Street beside Trinity Bellwoods Park.
The Gladstone kept its bar and event venue spaces open and operating throughout the restoration process in order to maintain community and neighbourhood connections.
