Chateau Laurier Hotel

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: 1949, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Hotel

Notes:

Chateau Laurier

Rideau Street at Confedaration Square:
was commissioned by Grand Trunk Railway president Charles Melville Hays, and was constructed for $2 million, between 1909 and 1912 in tandem with Ottawa's downtown Union Station (now the Government Conference Centre) across the street. Designed by firm Ross and MacFarlane 1908 and completed in 1912, a 240 room addition designed by Montreal architects John S. Archibald and John Schofield in 1927 completed in 1929, at a cost of 6 million.

The Chateau Laurier was named after then prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, whose goverment subsidized the construction of the Grand Trunk's Pacific line, and he was the first to sign the register.

The Chateau is an important landmark. Members of of parliament and senators have made it their home, From July 1924 to October 2004, the seventh and eight floors at the top were hom to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio stations. Photographer Yousuf Karsh maintained his studio and residence at the Château Laurier for many years.

The hotel features original Tiffany stained-glass windows and hand-moulded plaster decorations dating back to 1912. The walls were constructed of Indiana limestone. There are conical turrets and dormer windows and the roof is copper. The gables are carved with flowers, scrolls and crests. The lobby floors were constructed of Belgian marble.

Fact:
Rideau Street
Ottawa, On.