1912 – Château Laurier, Ottawa, Ontario

Another grand Canadian railway hotel by Montreal-based architects Ross and Macfarlane. Commissioned by the Grand Trunk Railway, construction between 1909 and 1912 cost CA$2 million, including Union Station across Rideau Street. A tunnel under Rideau Street links the two buildings. The original architect was Bradford Gilbert but he was dismissed early on in the project due to disagreements with the railway company executives.

The plans for the hotel initially generated some controversy, as it was to be constructed on what was then part of Major’s Hill Park. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1919), helped secure the prominent site and the hotel was eventually named after him.

Like Ross and Macfarlane’s, later Ross and MacDonald, other grand railway hotels, the exterior was treated in a French Chateau style with steep and tall dormered copper-clad roofs. Out of the 350 bedrooms at opening, 155 had private baths, while the remaining 104 rooms were equipped with washstands with hot and cold water.

The hotel had a low key and delayed opening after the railway company president died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. A large extension was added in 1929 by Montreal architect John Archibald and CN’s architect John Schofield with a further 240 rooms.