Looking toward the northeast corner of King St W and Strachan Ave, in the King West Village of Toronto.
The 2023 photo shows the former Palace Arms Hotel during a restoration project to preserve its façades. These façades were intended to be incorporated into a new mixed-use building at the site. However, it was later determined that the condition of the masonry was too poor to support the conservation plans. As a result, the project shifted focus to commemorate the landmark instead. Reusable materials were salvaged during the building’s demolition to replicate the original façades in the new structure wherever possible.
The April 2025 photo shows the vacant site where the building once stood following the completion of its demolition the previous month. The castle-like Palace Arms Hotel, which occupied the corner for over a century, was built in phases between 1890 and 1902.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register: 950 King St W, 95-97 Strachan Ave & 938-944 King St W
- City of Toronto: Decision Letter: 938, 944, 950 King St W & 95, 95, 99 Strachan Ave, dated Jan 18, 2024
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Aug 22, 1910, pg 7
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Jun 27, 2015, pg M1
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Jun 23, 2018, pg A16
- Toronto Star Newspaper Archives: Feb 27, 2021, 2009, pgs IN1 & IN4
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory courtesy of Toronto Public Library
