Lord Simcoe Hotel was one of many now vanished hotels in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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, Canada. Built in 1956, the 20-storey concrete and glass modernist structure was designed by Henry T. Langston and

Peter Dickinson Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL (16 December 1927 – 16 December 2015) was an English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories. Dickinson won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association ...

. The hotel was named for

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

and a resident of

York, Upper Canada York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for th ...

(now Toronto). The name was somewhat incorrect as Simcoe was never called or given the title of

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

. Located on the northeast corner of King Street and

University Avenue A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

(150 King Street West), it was closed in 1979 and torn down in 1981. It was replaced by the Sun Life Centre East Tower in 1984. The hotel was unable to compete with other downtown hotels due to a lack of central air conditioning and convention space. It consistently lost money over its 24-year existence.

References

*"Lord Simcoe workers say goodbye to hotel that fell behind the times." ''The Globe and Mail.'' Oct 29, 1979. pg. P.5 *"Lord Simcoe Hotel to be closed, torn down land to bring record $317 per square foot." Jack Willoughby. ''The Globe and Mail.'' Aug 4, 1979. pg. B.14

External links

Image of the hotel
Hotel buildings completed in 1956 Demolished buildings and structures in Toronto Hotels in Toronto Defunct hotels in Canada Modernist architecture in Canada Peter Dickinson (architect) buildings Buildings and structures demolished in 1981 Demolished hotels Former skyscrapers {{Toronto-stub