Union Hotel (Toronto)

Last updated
Union Hotel
Union Hotel (Toronto)
Former namesStrathcona Hotel
General information
Architectural style Chicago School - Structure
Modernist - Façade
Location60 York Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 1S8
Coordinates 43°38′46″N79°23′00″W / 43.6462425°N 79.383200°W / 43.6462425; -79.383200
Opened1933 (1933)
Renovated2012, 2023–2025
OwnerSilver Hotel Group
Height42 metres (137.8 ft)
Technical details
Floor count12
Other information
Number of rooms189
Number of suites1
Number of restaurants1
Public transit access Logo of the Toronto Transit Commission.svg Subway TTC - Line 1 - Yonge-University-Spadina line.svg at Union Station
UP Express icon white on black.jpg UP Express at Union Station
GO Transit logo.svg GO Transit at Union Station
VIA Rail Canada simplified.svg Via Rail at Union Station
Website
unionhoteltoronto.com
Official nameUnion Station Heritage Conservation District
Designated27 July 2006 (2006-07-27)
[1]

The Union Hotel is a boutique hotel located in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the northern side of Toronto's Union Station, after which it is named. The hotel originally opened in 1933 as the Strathcona Hotel. The hotel underwent renovations in 2023 and reopened in 2025, adopting its present name.

Contents

Hotel

Strathcona Hotel at South east corner of York and Pearl Strathcona Hotel at South east corner of York and Pearl was and store and restaurant.jpg
Strathcona Hotel at South east corner of York and Pearl

The hotel is at 60 York Street in the financial district of Toronto. Union Hotel is a 14-storey, 189-bedroom boutique hotel owned and managed by Silver Hotel Group. [2] [3] [4] The hotel features a lobby lounge named Humble Donkey with plans to open a restaurant in the hotel's basement level in spring of 2025. [5] The Union Hotel includes a fitness center, a courtyard, and a small meeting space called "The 6ix," all located on the second floor of the building. [6]

History

The hotel opened as the Strathcona Hotel in 1933. [7] In 1935, the owner persistently pushed the municipal hotel inspector to permit dancing in the dining room. [8] The inspector rejected this, but encouraged his supervisory board to consider permitting dancing in hotels. [8]

The hotel briefly appeared in the film Suicide Squad (2016). [9]

In April 2020, the hotel was leased by the City of Toronto for six months to provide temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. [10] In October 2020, the lease was extended by another six months. [2] 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. [2] In June 2023, the temporary homeless shelter closed and underwent renovations. [11]

In February 2025, the hotel reopened as Union Hotel. [4]

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References

  1. https://secure.toronto.ca/HeritagePreservation/details.do?folderRsn=2436572&propertyRsn=207210
  2. 1 2 3 Levy, Sue-Anne (14 Oct 2020). "LEVY: Lease extended for downtown hotel shelter". torontosun. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  3. Levy, Sue-Ann (9 Sep 2020). "LEVY: Two boutique hotels offered up to homeless". torontosun. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  4. 1 2 "Union Hotel | Toronto, ON M5J AS8". www.destinationtoronto.com. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  5. "Toronto hotel is being totally transformed after years as a homeless shelter". www.blogto.com. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  6. "Our Story". Union Hotel. Archived from the original on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  7. "About the Strathcona". Strathcona Hotel Downtown Toronto. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  8. 1 2 Malleck, Dan (2012). Try to Control Yourself: The Regulation of Public Drinking in Post-Prohibition Ontario, 1927-44. Ukraine: UBC Press. p149
  9. Fleischer, David (2016-12-08). "Where Suicide Squad Was Filmed in Toronto". Torontoist. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  10. 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.
  11. Marchesan, John (2023-07-16). "With another Toronto shelter hotel to close, residents ask Mayor Olivia Chow to step in". CityNews Toronto. Retrieved 2024-12-31.