Château Laurier facts for kids

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Fairmont Château Laurier
Quick facts for kids Château Laurier looking east from Parliament Hill

Address
Opening date	12 June 1912
Architect	Bradford Gilbert, Ross and Macfarlane
Management	Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Owner	Capital Hotel L.P.
No. of rooms	429

The Fairmont Château Laurier is a very large hotel in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It has 429 guest rooms and is located right in the city's downtown area. The hotel is near where Rideau Street and Sussex Drive meet. It was designed in a special French style called Châteauesque, which looks like a grand French castle. This style helps it fit in with the nearby Parliament buildings.

The hotel sits above the Rideau Canal locks and has great views of the Ottawa River. Its main dining room, now called the Laurier Room, looks out over Major's Hill Park. The Château Laurier is a very important building in Canada's history. It was named a national historic site in 1980.

History of the Château Laurier Hotel
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History of the Château Laurier Hotel

Building a Grand Hotel (1909–1923)

The idea for the Château Laurier came from Charles Melville Hays, who was the president of the Grand Trunk Railway. Construction of the hotel began in 1909 and finished in 1912. It cost about $2 million to build. At the same time, Ottawa's downtown Union Station (which is now the Senate of Canada Building) was also being built across Rideau Street. The hotel and the station were even connected by a tunnel.

When the hotel first opened, a private room cost $2 a night. Many of the rooms had their own private bathrooms. Other rooms had sinks with hot and cold water. There were also shared bathrooms and dormitories available.

The hotel has beautiful original Tiffany stained-glass windows. It also features detailed plaster decorations from 1912. The outside walls are made of Indiana limestone. The hotel has pointed towers, special windows called dormers, and a copper roof. The carvings on the gables (the triangular parts of the roof) show flowers, scrolls, and crests. Inside, the lobby floors are made of Belgian marble.

At first, there was some debate about where to build the hotel. It was planned for a part of Major's Hill Park. But Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who was the Prime Minister of Canada at the time, helped make sure the hotel could be built there. The hotel was later named in his honour. There was also a disagreement with the first architect, Bradford Gilbert. He was replaced by the firm of Ross and Macfarlane to finish the design.

Château Laurier looking southeast across the Ottawa River

The hotel was supposed to open on April 26, 1912. But Charles Melville Hays, who was coming back to Canada for the opening, sadly died when the RMS Titanic sank on April 15. So, Grand Trunk officials held a quieter opening ceremony on June 12, 1912. Sir Wilfrid Laurier was there. The hotel also had a barber shop added in 1918.

In August 1914, Major Raymond Brutinel gathered the first soldiers for the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade (CAMGB) at the hotel. There is a special plaque at the hotel. It honours Brutinel and the soldiers who served and died in the Canadian Machine Gun Brigade.

Under Canadian National Railway (1923–1988)

Porte-cochère entry on Wellington Street

In 1923, the Grand Trunk Railway became part of the Canadian National Railway. The Château Laurier then became one of CN's most important hotels. Besides hotel guests, the Château Laurier was also home to two important Ottawa groups for many years. From 1924 to 2004, the seventh and eighth floors housed the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's local radio stations. Famous photographer Yousuf Karsh also had his studio and home at the Château Laurier for a long time.

In 1929, a large new section was added to the hotel. This addition on Mackenzie Avenue created 240 more rooms. The outside of this new part looked French, but the inside lobby looked like an old English hall. It had dark-oak wood and a balcony overlooking the tall space. This new area also led to a convention hall and music room. The ballroom had a high, arched ceiling and rich drapes. The kitchen was very modern and could prepare food for up to 5,000 people.

The Jasper Tea Room, designed in 1929, had art inspired by Indigenous people from the Pacific Coast. Its columns were carved like totem poles around a dance floor. Lamps were decorated with bears, eagles, and crows. From 1929 to 1991, the Canadian Grill was a cozy, dimly lit restaurant. Diners could enjoy roast prime rib of beef and dance to live music.

In 1930, the hotel added a 60-foot (18 meter) indoor swimming pool. It was built in the Art Deco style, which was very popular then. In the 1930s and 1940s, the hotel also offered "therapeutic" spas. These spas used special treatments like electric therapy and UV lamps. They also used hot and cold water streams to help people with various health issues.

For many years, the hotel was very popular. It hosted kings and queens, world leaders, politicians, famous people, and important Canadians. R. B. Bennett, who was the Prime Minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935, even lived in a suite at the hotel during his time in office.

In the 1960s and 1970s, many new hotels were built in Ottawa. Also, the Union Station closed. These changes led to a slow decline in the Château's popularity. In 1965, the Jasper Lounge was changed into a mock English pub called the Cock and Lion. It had oak and old brick walls.

In 1981, the hotel was officially named a National Historic Site of Canada. In 1983, the Westin Hotel opened across the street. To stay competitive, the Château Laurier's owners spent $21 million in the 1980s to update and fix up the hotel. This helped it become Ottawa's top hotel again. They added a new entrance on Wellington Street. They also made the lobby's dark wood lighter and removed old animal trophies. A new area called Zoe's Lounge opened in 1985. It was a glassed-in space overlooking Rideau Street. By 1991, a wide hallway called Peacock Alley was replaced by Wilfrid's restaurant. This new restaurant offered views of the Parliament Buildings, the Rideau Canal locks, and the Ottawa River.

Changing Owners (1988–Present)

The hotel was run by Canadian National Hotels until 1988. Then, Canadian Pacific Hotels bought the chain. In 1999, the hotel was renamed the Fairmont Château Laurier. This happened after Canadian Pacific Hotels bought the American Fairmont hotel chain and changed its own name to Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

Château Laurier looking northeast at dusk

The hotel is very close to many of Ottawa's most important places. These include Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, the National Gallery of Canada, the Byward Market, the National War Memorial, and the CF Rideau Centre. Because it is so close to these buildings and has been a home and meeting place for many important political figures, some people call the hotel "the third chamber of Parliament."

The hotel even inspired the "Hotel du Canada" at the Canada (Epcot) pavilion in Orlando, Florida. In 2000, a group of architects in Canada chose the Château Laurier as one of the top 500 buildings built in Canada over the last 1,000 years. For its 100th birthday in 2012, the Fairmont Château Laurier was part of "Doors Open Ottawa." This event allows people to visit interesting and historic buildings.

In 2013, a company called Capital Hotel Limited Partnership bought the hotel. However, they kept Fairmont to manage it. In 2016, the new owners suggested adding a large new section to the hotel for "long-term stay" suites. The design of this new part looked very different from the original building. Many people did not like the proposed design. Despite public concerns, the project moved forward.

Even UNESCO, a United Nations organization, has asked for the hotel's extension to be looked at again. They are worried about how it might affect the view of the surrounding canals.

In 2018, the hotel was the setting for a web series called Chateau Laurier. However, because of money limits, the series was actually filmed at the Fairmont Royal York hotel in Toronto.