Thursday Doors

Linking up at Norm's Thursday Doors.

Toronto ON


The Gladstone Hotel was built in 1889 and named after Gladstone Avenue, next to the hotel. The Parkdale area hotel is a west Toronto landmark designed by local architect G.M. Miller in the Romanesque Revival style.


The Gladstone Hotel is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Toronto. It was originally built in 1889 as a stylish hostelry across from the then existing Parkdale railroad station which serviced the Grand Trunk, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), and the Canadian National Railway (CNR) companies. In addition to serving the three major railway companies it also provided visitors attending the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) a place to stay.


The original owner, Susanna Robinson, was a widow who operated and lived at the hotel with her 13 children.


A report appeared in the Toronto Star on October 3rd, 1911, indicating that the Gladstone was soon to become the property of an incorporated company. The owner at that time was Mr. Victor E. Gianelli. Interviewed by the Star, Mr. Gianelli stated that the deal had not yet been closed, but the plan was to increase the size of the hotel and improve the facilities.


An article published in the Star on December 27th, 1912, indicated that the Gladstone Hotel had changed hands again, and that the Gladstone Hotel Company, of which Mr. Thomas Slattery was manager, had purchased the Gladstone hotel property from Mr. Gianelli for $110,000. Mr. Slattery had earlier purchased the license for $60,000. It was reported that extensive alterations were to be made to the property.


Throughout the years the hotel was passed from owner to owner and gradually deteriorated in both status and physical appearance. In 2000 a group of developers decided to attempt to rescue this once-luxurious hotel. The Tippins and the Zeidler families combined forces but arguments between the two families regarding how to approach the restoration project resulted in the Zeidlers becoming sole owners of the hotel in 2002.

Among the old fixtures that grace the lovingly restored Gladstone Hotel, the caged elevator best reflects the inn's early grandeur as a high-end railway stopover.

Click here to read about the Gladstone Cowboy.

The hotel often hosts art and photography shows.