Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

March 2023 - Toronto ON

Maison Selby sits at the bottom of The Selby, Tricon’s recently completed rental building, which offers residents inviting shared spaces, an expansive gym, outdoor pool and terrace, and a custom spa. Its collection of bright, modern suites beautifully juxtaposes the storied mansion below, steeped in Toronto history.

After a multi-year restoration, the mansion has been returned to its Victorian splendour. ERA Architects were tasked with preserving both the exterior and interior. Outside, the brick was starting to crumble, while inside, they needed to restore six fireplaces, the original window shutters, and plaster cornices, among other original details. The laborious process, which also required ERA to oversee the moving of the building—it was moved 14 metres east—took almost seven years to complete.

It is now a French-inspired bistro run by O & B, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B) is recognized as one of Canada's leading fine dining restaurant and event companies.

Bonacini is one of my favourite chefs in the city, you can find him as a host on MasterChef Canada.

We dined here in March.

The Selby has always been an address associated with good times. Many well-loved bars have taken up residence in the building. In the ’40s, the Skyway Lounge, a popular sports bar, operated out of The Selby. The spot then became the watering hole for sports stars. Hockey players Turk Broda and Rocket Richard, as well as boxer Whipper Billy Watson, were all known barflies who’d come by to celebrate their wins and nurse their losses at the Skyway Lounge. Later on, another bar, called The Men’s Beverage Room, replaced the Skyway. William Shatner was a fan of the atmosphere and popped in when visiting Toronto. In 1981, the gay dance club Boots moved in, making this a hot spot for LGBTQ+ events for two decades.

1883 - The mansion was designed by acclaimed architect David Roberts Jr., who had extensive connections to Toronto’s prominent Gooderham family (the cofounders of Gooderham and Worts Distillery, now known as the Distillery District). Roberts Jr. was also responsible for designing Toronto’s Flatiron Building.

1910 - 1912 - The prestigious girls’ private school Branksome Hall—founded in 1903—relocated from its original home on Bloor Street East to the Charles Horace Gooderham House.

Margaret Eaton, of the Eaton family, attended the school at this location. She went on to become Commanding Officer of the Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Corp. and the highest-ranking female officer during World War II.

1912 - The C.H. Gooderham House became home to the Selby Hotel, originally founded as a private “hostel” that catered to elderly female clientele (when it wasn’t hosting Canadian and British officers during WWII), and was viewed as one of Toronto’s cultural focal points. The Selby became a public hotel in 1920.

1923 - Internationally renowned author Ernest Hemingway was one of many creative heavyweights who stayed at the Selby Hotel. During his brief career as a foreign correspondent at the Toronto Star, he occupied two adjoining rooms: room 301 and the “Gooderham Suite.”

Restored inside.