Lord Elgin Hotel
Encyclopedia
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with 355 guest rooms, located at 100 Elgin Street
Elgin Street (Ottawa)
Elgin Street is a street in the Golden Triangle of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally named Biddy's Lane, it was later named after Lord Elgin....
at Laurier Avenue
Laurier Avenue (Ottawa)
Laurier Avenue is a central east west street running through Ottawa, Canada. Originally known as "Maria Street" and "Theodore Street" , it was renamed in honour of Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier...
, across from Confederation Park
Confederation Park
Confederation Park is a park in downtown Ottawa and a National Historic Site of Canada. It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on the east by the Rideau Canal; on the north by the Mackenzie King Bridge, the Rideau Centre and the National Arts Centre; and, to the west,...
. The twelve-storey limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
structure was named after James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
, the first Governor General of the united Canadas
Canadas
Canadas may refer to:* The Canadas* Canada geese* Carlos Cañadas* Esther Cañadas...
.
History and Architecture
The hotel was designed by the prestigious firm of Ross and MacdonaldRoss and Macdonald
Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the firm originally operated as a partnership between George Allen Ross and David MacFarlane from 1907 to 1912. MacFarlane retired in 1913, and Robert Henry Macdonald...
, which were the successors of Ross and MacFarlane, who designed the Chateau Laurier
Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a landmark hotel in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive designed in the Châteauesque style.-History:...
. It was opened in 1941 by the Ford Hotel Company to compete with the Château Laurier
Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a landmark hotel in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive designed in the Châteauesque style.-History:...
. Unlike the Château, however, the Lord Elgin was built to primarily serve short-stay guests, particularly those who were in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
on government and military business during the Second World War, especially after the recent loss of the nearby Russell Hotel
Russell Hotel (Ottawa)
The Russell House hotel was the most high profile hotel in Ottawa, Canada for many decades.-History:The hotel was located at the southeast corner of Sparks Street and Elgin. A small hotel was first built there in the 1840s and the small structure was originally named Campbell's Hotel after its...
. As a result, the hotel did not originally contain any ballrooms or elegant restaurants, as would have been expected in a large hotel at that time, and the guest rooms were relatively small.
The building features stone walls which are complete with broken courses
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
and are finished by flattened oriel windows and modernistic chevrons. The building is topped by a steep copper chateauesque
Châteauesque
Châteauesque is one of several terms, including Francis I style, and, in Canada, the Château Style, that refer to a revival architectural style based on the French Renaissance architecture of the monumental French country homes built in the Loire Valley from the late fifteenth century to the...
roof, which, William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
apparently urged the architects to include to reflect the Parliament buildings
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
copper roof.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the hotel's impressive facade hid the decline in its fortunes due to changes in the economy, increased competition from international hotel chains also located in the downtown core, and new demands from an ever evolving younger traveling business class. Significant renovations in the 1990s and 2000s resulted in the construction of large additions to the north and south of the building, the refurbishment and enlargement of existing rooms, and the addition of 60 new guestrooms, new meeting rooms and a new fitness facility which finished in 2002.
The interior showcases busts of James Bruce and his wife, Maria Louisa. Contemporary renovations have significantly altered the original streamlined art-deco inspired lobby.
The hotel is just a short walk away from some of the capital's most important landmarks including Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, the National Gallery of Canada, the Byward Market, the National War Memorial, the U.S. Embassy, and the Rideau Centre.