How We Got Here
The long road from 1897 to today
The Beginning
Railroad magnate Charles Halrion decided Toronto needed something grand. He wasn't wrong. The Citadel opened its doors with 47 rooms, a dining hall that sat 200, and gas lamps that the staff had to light manually every evening. The first guest? A cattle rancher from Alberta who'd never seen an elevator before.
The Roaring Twenties
We expanded to 112 rooms and added what was supposedly Toronto's first cocktail bar (the city records are... fuzzy on that). During prohibition, let's just say our basement saw a lot of "private meetings." The original bar still exists, by the way - now it's part of our wine cellar.
War Years
Things got tough. The Citadel became temporary housing for military families and officers on leave. Our kitchen ran on ration cards, and we turned the ballroom into a recreation space for soldiers. There's still a carving in one of the window frames - "J.M. 1943" with a maple leaf. We've left it there.
Near Miss
Almost lost her to developers who wanted to tear down the building for condos. A group of local historians and former guests literally chained themselves to the front doors until the city intervened. We got landmark status, a thorough restoration, and yeah... some truly regrettable orange carpet that took another 20 years to replace.
Full Circle
Major renovation without losing the soul. We added the spa, updated every room (while keeping the original crown molding), and finally got central air that doesn't sound like a freight train. The bones are still 1897, but now you can charge your phone and take a decent shower. Best of both worlds, honestly.
Today
We're still here, still standing, still figuring it out one day at a time. The building's been through a lot, and honestly, so have we. But that's kind of the point - places like this don't survive by staying the same. They survive by adapting while remembering where they came from. And we've gotten pretty good at that.
