Opened in 1929 as the tallest building in the British Commonwealth
The Fairmont Royal York
Built by the Canadian Pacific Railway across from Union Station, the Royal York opened in 1929 as one of the grandest hotels in the Commonwealth and has hosted royalty ever since.
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The Royal York opened in 1929 directly across Front Street from Union Station, built by the Canadian Pacific Railway as a flagship hotel to greet passengers arriving by rail, replacing the older Queen's Hotel that had stood on the same site. At 28 storeys and around 1,000 rooms, it opened as the tallest building in the British Commonwealth and, for a time, the largest hotel in the Empire, built with the kind of scale railway companies used to project their wealth and permanence in the cities they served.
A stage for royal visits
The hotel's name reflects its role as an unofficial royal venue: it has hosted numerous members of the British royal family on visits to Toronto over the decades, along with a long list of heads of state, musicians and other public figures. Now operated as the Fairmont Royal York, the building has been renovated repeatedly since 1929 while keeping its original Beaux-Arts exterior and grand lobby, remaining one of the most recognizable hotel buildings on Toronto's skyline.
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