Strathcona Hotel (Toronto)

Union Hotel
Map
Former namesStrathcona Hotel
General information
Location60 York Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5J 1S8
Coordinates43°38′46″N 79°23′00″W / 43.6462425°N 79.383200°W / 43.6462425; -79.383200
Opened1933 (1933)
Renovated2012, 2023–2025
OwnerSilver Hotel Group
Technical details
Floor count12
Other information
Number of rooms189
Number of restaurants1
Website
unionhoteltoronto.com
Official nameUnion Station Heritage Conservation District
Designated27 July 2006 (2006-07-27)
[1]

Union Hotel is a boutique hotel located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hotel is located near Toronto's Union Station. The hotel, originally opened in 1933 as the Strathcona Hotel, began renovations in 2023 and reopened in 2025 as the Union Hotel.

Hotel

Strathcona Hotel at South east corner of York and Pearl

Union Hotel is a 14-storey, 189-bedroom boutique hotel owned and managed by Silver Hotel Group.[2][3][4] It features a cafe–lobby lounge named Humble Donkey.[5]

History

The hotel opened as the Strathcona Hotel in 1933.[6] In 1935, the owner persistently pushed John Kidd, the municipal hotel inspector, to permit dancing in the dining room.[7] Kidd rejected this, but encouraged his supervisory board to consider permitting dancing in hotels.[7]

The hotel briefly appeared in the Suicide Squad 2016 movie.[8]

In April 2020, the hotel was rented by the City of Toronto for six months to provide temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness.[9] 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.[10]

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

References

  1. ^ https://secure.toronto.ca/HeritagePreservation/details.do?folderRsn=2436572&propertyRsn=207210
  2. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b "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. ^ "About the Strathcona". Strathcona Hotel Downtown Toronto. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  7. ^ a b Malleck, Dan (2012). Try to Control Yourself: The Regulation of Public Drinking in Post-Prohibition Ontario, 1927-44. Ukraine: UBC Press. p149
  8. ^ Fleischer, David (2016-12-08). "Where Suicide Squad Was Filmed in Toronto". Torontoist. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.