Come for a walk around Ottawa’s iconic grand hotel. We will consider the building structure, architectural style and architects from the original design proposals and 1912 building by the Grand Trunk Railway, the 1927 expansion by Canadian National Railways, other changes over the last fifty years,  and the current proposals to replace the 1960s-era parking garage with a hotel addition facing Major’s Hill Park and the Ottawa River.

We’ll meet on the plaza beside the future Senate (former Union Station) on the south side of Rideau St. across from the Chateau Laurier.  From this first viewpoint in front of the Chateau, we will cross Rideau St. to the front of the hotel, then go down the steps to the canal-side public terrace and up the steps into Major’s Hill Park at the north end of the terrace.  We will then circle around the east side of the hotel and cross Mackenzie Ave to the top of the York Steps.   We’ll walk south on Mackenzie Ave to Rideau Street. There are eight important views of the Chateau along this route.

Guides:

David Jeanes is president of Heritage Ottawa and has studied railway station and hotel architecture for many years. He is a frequent tour guide for Heritage Ottawa and had led a number of Jane’s Walks and other heritage tours in Ottawa.

Peter Coffman is an architectural photographer and historian and Associate Professor in the History and Theory of Architecture program at Carleton University.  He is a director of Heritage Ottawa and is past president of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada.