Looking southeast towards 81 Victoria St, north of Lombard St in Toronto’s St Lawrence neighbourhood.
Built in 1907/08, the building was designed by architect Henry Simpson and originally known as the Strand Hotel. When the hotel closed in the early 1920s, it mainly housed permanent guests. The building was sold for $24,000 at a public auction and housed offices before being turned back into lodgings and becoming the Hotel Sheldon in the mid-1930s.
Over the years, it had several name changes, including the Sheldon House Hotel and the Sheldon Public House/Tavern in the 1970s and 80s. Later on, it became The Strand, a fine dining restaurant, and then the Grange Hotel.
More recently, it was home to the Batch House brewpub, which closed in 2021. Today, the heritage-designated building sits vacant.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register: 81 Victoria St
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- Toronto City Directory courtesy of Toronto Public Library
Here’s some Strand Hotel stationery from 1919; it’s from my collection, which I’ve scanned and posted to my Flickr account here: https://flic.kr/p/2qJgsF3
Hi Christopher, Thank you for sharing that interesting piece of the building’s history from your collection.