Did you know?

 

The fire that destroyed the former Hotel Royal in 1925 prompted the construction of a new, modern hotel in its place. The Hotel Ontario was begun in June 1926 and was opened to the public in January 1927 on the northeast corner of A Street (Holt Boulevard) and Lemon Avenue. The hotel celebrated its grand opening on March 17, 1927. Designed by architect Evan Jones and owned by William L. Benedict, ...the modern brick hotel, hailed at the time as fireproof, cost over $200,000 to build and furnish. It boasted 77 rooms, all with direct outside access, and a large parking garage. In 1948 the hotel was remodeled and renamed the Orange Hotel. While a success for decades, by the late 1960s the hotel had fallen into great disrepair. The owners of the hotel were told to fix structural issues or face the closing of the hotel. It was shut down in 1972, but new owners, promising a remodel, reopened it in 1973. In 1976 it was renamed the Landmark Hotel. Over the next 11 years its various owners were given numerous code violations and the hotel continued its downward spiral. It was destroyed by fire in 1987.

Post content and Photo credit: Model Colony History Room. #HistoricalWednesday #CityofOntario