The Russell House hotel was the most high-profile

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada for many decades. It was located at the corner of Sparks Street and Elgin Street, where Confederation Square is located today. The original building was built in the 1840s. Additions were made in the 1870s and the original building replaced in 1880. It closed in 1925 and was demolished in 1928.

History

The

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

hotel was located at the southeast corner of

Sparks Street Sparks Street (''French:'' Rue Sparks) is a pedestrian mall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was a main street in Ottawa that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1967, making it the earliest such street or mall in Canada.

and Elgin Street. A small hotel was first built there in the 1840s and was named Campbell's Hotel after its proprietor. In 1863, it came under the ownership of James Gouin, who named it the Russell House after a family in the United States he managed a hotel for, in Quebec City. Gouin later built the Caledonia Springs Hotel, a famous spa in eastern Ontario, and was appointed Ottawa Postmaster by Sir John A. Macdonald. Ottawa's status as the capital of the new country created a pressing demand for hotel space. A new wing housing the dining room was built during the 1870s along Elgin Street. The original hotel was torn down and replaced in 1880, in the "Second Empire" style. For many decades the Russell House served as Ottawa's foremost hotel. Most Canadian politicians from this era spent time at the Russell House, and

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

lived there for ten years before moving to

Laurier House Laurier House (french: Maison Laurier) is a National Historic Site in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (in the Sandy Hill district). It was formerly the residence of two Canadian prime ministers: Sir Wilfrid Laurier (for whom the house is named) and Will ...

. International guests included Oscar Wilde and

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

. On two occasions, important sport-related events occurred at the Russell House. In 1876, Ottawa's first rugby football team, the "Ottawas", was organized at Russell House, and play its first game three days later. The club would evolve to become the Ottawa Rough Riders football club. In 1892, at a dinner at the Russell House to honor the Ottawa Hockey Club, Governor-General

Lord Stanley Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

announced he would offer a trophy to the top Canadian ice hockey team, the genesis of the Stanley Cup. In 1912, the

Château Laurier The Fairmont Château Laurier is a hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to complem ...

succeeded the Russell as Ottawa's premier hotel. Money was spent on renovations in the 1920s, but the hotel had declined due to age and its closure was announced on September 1, 1925. Some of the reasons listed were the high cost of heating the structure, and the higher number of staff to operate the hotel, compared to a newer facility. The Russell House closed permanently on October 1, 1925. Ground-level shops remained open, but the hotel was emptied. On April 14, 1928, a fire broke out in the hotel, and the hotel was mostly destroyed. The remains of the structure were demolished by November. The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

had been in the process of buying the property when the fire occurred, and the government used the land to expand Elgin Street to create

Confederation Square Confederation Square (french: Place de la Confédération) is an urban square in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and is considered the second most important ceremonial centre in Canada's capital city, after Parliament Hill. Roughly triangular in ar ...

. Various artifacts of the hotel are on display at the

Bytown Museum The Bytown Museum (French: Musée Bytown) is a museum in Ottawa located in the Colonel By Valley at the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal at the Ottawa River, just below Parliament Hill. Housed in the Commissariat Building, Ottawa's oldest rem ...

. File:Old Russell House Ottawa.jpg , The original hotel with new wing on right File:Building the Russell House Ottawa.jpg , Construction of new main building in 1880 File:Ottawa Russell House Dining Room 1884.jpg , Dining room in 1884 File:Ottawa Russell House Drawing Room 1884.jpg , Drawing room in 1884 File:Russell Hotel Fire 1927 Ottawa.jpg , Ruins after fire in 1928

References

External links

Photograph:Russell House Hotel, 1907
- McCord Museum
The Russell House Hotel
{{Defunct hotels in Canada Hotel buildings completed in 1880 Hotels in Ottawa Defunct hotels in Canada Demolished buildings and structures in Ottawa Burned buildings and structures in Canada 1880 establishments in Ontario Hotels established in the 1840s 1928 fires in North America 1928 disestablishments in Ontario Buildings and structures demolished in 1928

History

See also

References

External links