| Winchester Hotel | |
| Architectural Style: | Second Empire (exterior), Art Moderne (interior) |
| Address: | 531 Parliament Street, Toronto |
| Years Built: | 1880, 1888 |
| Est Completion: | --> |
| Renovation Date: | 1941 |
| Destruction Date: | --> |
| Material: | red brick |
| Floor Count: | 3½-storey Winchester Hotel with 2½-storey south wing |
| Architect: | Thomas Kennedy (1880 building), Benjamin Swartz (1941 alterations) |
| Architecture Firm: | Kennedy and Holland (initial building) |
The Winchester Hotel is a preserved commercail building, located at 531 Parliament Street, in Cabbagetown, Toronto. The former hotel building was listed as a heritage building by the city in 1975 and was designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 1995.[1]
It was one of the five or six major hotels in Toronto when it was built, until the King Edward Hotel opened in 1903.[2]
The building was designed by architect Thomas Kennedy in the 1880s. It was known for having a dome on the roof, with a flagpole "that was visible throughout the city" [3]
Plans to bring a Tim Hortons to the site in 2005 caused consternation among local residents and heritage activists. [3]
The building currently known as the Winchester Hotel opened in the 1880s as the Lakeview Hotel. It once had a lantern mounted atop a cupola on the roof, that was removed, either in 1941 when it was given an Art Moderne facelift, or in 1954 (sources are unsure). A replica was added in 2021, using the same architectural firm that was renovating Massey Hall at the time.[4] Its listing on the Canadian Register of Historic Places notes: "The imposing 3½-storey red brick Winchester Hotel with a 2½-storey red brick south wing, and the adjoining two-storey red brick Winchester Hall are located on the southeast corner of Parliament Street and Winchester Street in the Toronto neighbourhood of Cabbagetown.” [5]