Crystal Ballroom reno at the King Eddie

[DrT]

Allright gals, everyone dust off your best ballroom gowns and maybe we can all go to the gala opening!


http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8269/crystalballroomkingeddipr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


News
August 18, 2008 — The King Edward Hotel has long been a centre of Toronto’s social life, and for many years its 17th floor Crystal Ballroom was one of the city’s most refined spaces. Opened in 1922, the room was at the top of what was at that time one of the tallest buildings in the city, its tall windows having sweeping views south, east and west. The room fell out of use in the 1950’s and serious capacity limitations left it unable to be used despite a number of schemes that proposed its refurbishment. The current project aims to correct some of those challenges and restore the ballroom to active use. The space is expected to be open by mid 2009.

[Looking/Up]

I think this is great news! With so much large scale development going on it's nice to know that some of the smaller gems aren't being forgotten. I wonder if the refurbishment will include an enlargement, and if so, how much larger?

[Taller, Better]

That is AMAZING news! I am dying to get up there and see the view from those windows! About time they are doing this, but kudos to them for finally getting it done. I just hope they do a period-sensitive reno.

[DrT]

I think this is great news! With so much large scale development going on it's nice to know that some of the smaller gems aren't being forgotten. I wonder if the refurbishment will include an enlargement, and if so, how much larger?


I think that they are making the top two floors of the building functinal by re-locating some of the stairwells to satisfy the fire code, but I don't have an original source for that. One of the UT forumers said that there was a permit to that effect at the job site.

[DrT]

This Ballroom has been closed since the early fifties!

Some of the stars that have stayed at the King Eddy (from Wiki):

The hotel has housed dignitaries and luminaries, from Mark Twain and Rudolph Valentino to Margaret Thatcher and Britney Spears. The Beatles stayed at the hotel during their first visit to Toronto, in 1964, and caused the hotel's biggest commotion to date, when 3,000 fans packed the streets and flooded the lobby. Later, John Lennon returned to the hotel, this time with Yoko Ono for a "bed-in for peace" in December 1969. Liz Taylor and Richard Burton also stayed at the hotel, in February 1964; they were not married to one another at the time, which caused a scandal.

OMG, two people together in a room that are not married!