Château Laurier
1 Rideau Street
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
A true Ottawa landmark, the Fairmont Château Laurier was commissioned by Grand Trunk Railway president Charles Melville Hays, and was constructed in tandem with the Union Station with a tunnel connecting the two buildings (Union Station closed in 1966 and is now home to the Government Conference Centre). Sadly, Hays died in the sinking of the Titanic just days before the hotel's scheduled grand opening.
The hotel, named for then Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was once referred to as “the third chamber of Parliament” due to the number of politicians that have made it their home.
From 1924 to 2004, the sixth floor of the hotel was home to the CBC's local radio stations – a legacy that began when the Canadian National Railway established Ottawa's first radio station. Yousuf Karsh, one of the world's most renowned portrait photographers, also maintained his studio and residence at the hotel for many years.
Did you ever dance at the hotel's “Grill” in the 1950s and ’60s?
Neighbourhood
From its very beginnings in 1826, Bytown (early Ottawa) was divided geographically, with Uppertown to the west of the Rideau Canal and Lowertown to the east. Lowertown, then ... read more
