page_title: Fairmont Royal York
section_title: Location
hierarchical_section_title: Fairmont Royal York / Location
caption_attribution_description: The Royal York Hotel, or Fairmont Royal York as it is now known, is a historic up-scale hotel and landmark in Toronto. The builiding, erected on the site of an even older hotel, opened in 1929 and at the time was the largest building in the British Empire. The hotel still exudes a distinctly colonail feel - much like its cousins the Empress Hotel in Victoria, or the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. You can't see it from this picture, but the Royal York is directly across the street from the main Toronto train and subway stations at Union Station, and the contrast between the quiet, orderly scene in front of the hotel, and the mayhem of pedistrians and taxi stands in front of the station makes for an interesting urban scene - especially around afternoon rush hour.
context_page_description: The Fairmont Royal York, formerly and commonly known as the Royal York, is a large historic luxury hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located along Front Street West, the hotel is situated at the southern end of the Financial District, in Downtown Toronto. The Royal York was designed by Ross and Macdonald, in association with Sproatt and Rolph, and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is presently managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
  Opened on 11 June 1929, the Châteauesque-styled building is 124-metre-tall, and contains 28 floors. It is considered one of Canada's grand railway hotels. After its completion, the building was briefly the tallest building in Toronto, as well as the tallest building in the country, and the British Empire, until the nearby Canadian Bank of Commerce Tower was built the following year. The building has undergone several extensive renovations since it first opened, with its first major renovation in 1972. An underground walkway linking the hotel with the Royal Bank Plaza and Union Station form part of the Toronto's PATH underground city system.
context_section_description: The Royal York Hotel sits at 100 Front Street West at the southern end of the Financial District, a business district in Downtown Toronto. The hotel property is bounded by Piper Street to the north, and York Street to the west, whereas its eastern portion is bounded by Royal Bank Plaza, an office complex that serves as the operational headquarters of the Royal Bank of Canada. Union Station, the city's main intermodal transportation hub, is located south of the hotel, across Front Street West. The Royal York was not the first hotel built on the site. The first hotel was built in 1843 and was originally known as the Ontario Terrace. It consisted of four brick houses, and was later occupied by Knox College, a seminary. The former hotel was later demolished to make way for the Royal York.
  Located at the southern end of the Financial District, near Bay Street, the hotel is situated within Canada's financial centre. Its southerly location within the Financial District also places the hotel near several downtown neighbourhoods. Southwest of the Financial District is the Entertainment District, whereas the neighbourhoods of St. Lawrence and South Core are located to the east, and south of the Financial District.
  The hotel building forms a part of the Union Station Heritage Conservation District, a historic district surrounding Union Station. The creation of the historic district was through 
  the Ontario Heritage Act, and was enacted by Toronto City Council on July 2006. Given its overlap with the Financial District, the historic district is an eclectic collection of buildings, with structures dating from the 1850s to the present day. Historic buildings within this district include the Dominion Public Building, and The Toronto Club.
caption: The main entrance to the Royal York Hotel is on Front Street West.
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