The King Edward Hotel in Toronto, Canada is part of the Le Méridien chain of hotels. Officially known as the Le Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel, it is also colloquially called the King Eddie.
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Location
The hotel is located on the south side of King Street East west of Jarvis Street and in the fourth block east of Yonge Street. It is across the street from the Cathedral Church of St. James and just west of St. Lawrence Hall.
History
The hotel was designed by Chicago architect Henry Ives Cobb and Toronto architect E.J. Lennox for developer George Gooderham's Toronto Hotel Company, and was granted its name by namesake King Edward VII. It opened in 1903. After a number of years of decline, the hotel was restored in 1981 by Stanford Downey Architects Inc. At the top of the hotel is the rarely-used Crystal Ballroom, that was added onto the hotel in 1921 and used until the early 1950s. The Ballroom, once the most fashionable in the city, was not restored in the 1980s with the rest of the hotel, and is now used for fly fishing practice. The hotel has housed dignitaries and luminaries, from Mark Twain and Rudolph Valentino to Margaret Thatcher and Britney Spears. The Beatles stayed at the hotel during their first visit to Toronto, in 1964, and caused the hotel's biggest commotion to date, when 3,000 fans packed the streets and flooded the lobby. Later, John Lennon returned to the hotel, this time with Yoko Ono for a bed-in for peace in December 1969. Liz Taylor and Richard Burton also stayed at the hotel, in February 1964; they were not married to one another which caused a scandal. The King Eddie has not only housed film stars but also film sets, from the mellow, Leonard Cohen’s 1983 musical I am a Hotel, to the melodramatic, Jamie Foxx’s film Bait, which during a stunt mishap caused an explosion that shook the building and shattered windows. The hotel is the location of an historical plaque placed by the Ontario Heritage Trust.
See also
References
- The King Edward Hotel. Online Plaque Guide. Ontario Heritage Trust (2006-02-28). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
- Brown, Alan L. (2004-03-31). The King Edward Hotel. Ontario's Historical Plaques. ontarioplaques.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
- Immen, Wallace (2001-07-05). King Eddie outlasts scandals, celebrities and orange shag. Business Travel Guide. Globeandmail.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
