CNHS - Chateau Laurier - Ottawa
Posted by: 
JDandDD
N 45° 25.507 W 075° 41.676
18T E 445661 N 5030411
The Chateau Laurier Hotel at 1 Rideau St. in Ottawa, Ontario.
Waymark Code: WMNKN
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 08/27/2006
Views: 182
![](http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/f4bbcd49-7787-4575-9099-f77f042edc03.jpg")
The Chateau Laurier was named for Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Prime Minister at the time of its opening. Laurier himself opened the hotel on June 12, 1912. A magnificent bust of Laurier sits in the lobby of the hotel which reflects the grandeur of its age. Now the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, it is one of Ottawa's prime, luxury hotel with all the elegance and history of its time.
The man who conceived the idea of the then $2,000,000 hotel was Charles Melville Hayes, the general manager of the Grand Trunk Railway. He wanted a hotel located near his Ottawa Terminal, Union Station, that is located across the street and is connected to the hotel by an underground tunnel. The station is now the Ottawa Convention Centre.
Unfortunately, Hayes did not survive to see the hotel open. Days before it was scheduled to open on April 26, 1912 Hayes was returning from Europe when his ship sunk. It was the Titanic disaster of April 14, 1912.
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