Crystal Ballroom

Built: 1921

The ‘King Eddy’ was Toronto's first luxury hotel. It was built by the George Gooderham Toronto Hotel Company in 1903. The Crystal Ballroom is the spectacular 17th floor of the King Edward Hotel.

Located at the top of the 1921 addition, this space attracted the rich and famous socialites of its time. Large picture windows provided a striking view of the surrounding city. With an interior classically styled with decorative plaster, golden patterns and chandeliers, the ballroom must have been impressive. Ultimately, stricter fire codes caused the closure of the Crystal Ballroom space in the late 1950s. It's sat abandoned since.

The photos here represent visits during 2004. At that time the space was used intermittently for fly-fishing lessons. Since then, there have been plans to restore the space for regular use.

Selects

  • Crystal Ballroom
  • Stair
  • Chair in Reflection

Interiors

  • Elevator Lobby
  • Overlooking the Ballroom
  • Window Frame
  • Corner Fly-fishing
  • Chair at Window
  • Window Bits
  • Matchbox on Window Sill
  • Column and Window
  • Window to Ballroom
  • Chair at Stair

The 'B-Roll'

Photos in the “B-Roll” group are (in my opinion) lower-quality images, included for completeness or because they were posted when this site was in its infancy.

  • Corner Detail
  • Column Details
  • Mouldings
  • Elevator Equipment