Strathcona Hotel (Toronto)

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The Strathcona Hotel in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada opened in 1933. It has been used as a homeless shelter since 2020.

Contents

Hotel

The Strathcona Hotel is 14-storey, 194-bedroom boutique hotel owned by the Silver Hotel Group. [1] [2] It is located across the street from the Fairmont Royal York hotel. [2]

History

The hotel opened in 1933. [3] In 1935, the owner persistently pushed John Kidd, the municipal hotel inspector, to permit dancing in the dining room. [4] Kidd rejected this, but encouraged his supervisory board to consider permitting dancing in hotels. [4]

The hotel briefly appeared in the Suicide Squad 2016 movie. [5]

In April 2020, the hotel was rented by the City of Toronto for six months to provide temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. [6] In October 2020, the lease was extended by another six months. [1] The city paid the hotel $592,243 per month, representing $100 per room per night, totalling $7.5 million per year, plus the cost of providing food to residents. [1] In December 2022, a former resident of the hotel was fatally stabbed outside of it. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Levy, Sue-Anne (14 Oct 2020). "LEVY: Lease extended for downtown hotel shelter". torontosun. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  2. 1 2 Levy, Sue-Ann (9 Sep 2020). "LEVY: Two boutique hotels offered up to homeless". torontosun. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  3. "About the Strathcona". Strathcona Hotel Downtown Toronto. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  4. 1 2 Malleck, Dan (2012). Try to Control Yourself: The Regulation of Public Drinking in Post-Prohibition Ontario, 1927-44. Ukraine: UBC Press. p149
  5. Fleischer, David (2016-12-08). "Where Suicide Squad Was Filmed in Toronto". Torontoist. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  6. Casey, Liam (2021-01-20). "Homeless in Toronto shelters begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines, but program put on hold". CTV News . Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  7. Woodward, Jon (2022-12-19). "Downtown Toronto stabbing escalated after dispute over liquor: witnesses". CP24. Retrieved 2022-12-23.