The Selby Hotel, once located at 592 Sherbourne St., is a Victorian mansion with a history that spans over 140 years and boasts an interesting connection to writer Ernest Hemingway.
Originally built for Henry Falwell Gooderham, a member of the influential Gooderham family, the mansion was designed by renowned architect David Roberts Jr. between 1882 and 1883.
Roberts Jr. also designed many buildings in Toronto’s Distillery District, and is perhaps most known for his iconic Gooderham Flatiron Building at 49 Wellington St.
The Selby Hotel in 1940. Photo by City of Toronto Archives.
The red brick mansion’s Queen Anne Revival style pays homage to the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and was constructed during a residential boom in Toronto.
During the time it was built, the St. James Town neighbourhood was home to several of the city’s most affluent families, and many grand Victorian homes sat on Sherbourne Street. However, only a few of these original mansions remain intact today.
The building was sold in 1885 to Gooderham’s brother, Charles, who lived there until his death in 1904. In 1910, the building became the prestigious Branksome Hall, an all-girls school that educated the daughters of prominent families, including Margaret Eaton from the wealthy Eaton family.
Branksome Hall occupied the mansion starting in 1910. Photo by Branksome Hall.
The school only occupied the mansion for two years before it was transformed into The Selby Hotel in 1912. It was originally intended as a private lodging for elderly women, but the time World War II broke out, the hotel expanded its role to care for Canadian and Allied soldiers.
Throughout its history, The Selby hosted many prominent figures, including writer Ernest Hemingway in the 1920s. Hemingway stayed at The Selby while working as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star, and it’s often suggested that he wrote his novel A Farewell to Arms during his stay.
Photo by Branksome Hall.
In the following decades, the hotel became a popular gathering spot for sports fans and also urban nightlife.
In the 1940s, a bar called The Skyway Lounge opened and attracted famous sports figures such as Canadian hockey legends Turk Broad and Maurice “Rocket” Richard, as well as wrestlers Bulldog Brower and Whipper Billy Watson.
The Selby Hotel in 1972. Photo by City of Toronto Archives.
The 1950s saw the opening of The Men’s Beverage Room on the property, another popular spot that even served Canadian actor William Shatner.
Then, during the 1980s, The Selby became a central hub for Toronto’s LGBTQ2+ community, with the opening of the dance club Boots in the basement, which was later accompanied by the bar The Courtyard.
In 1989, the building received official recognition under the Ontario Heritage Act for its historical significance.
Advertisement for the Selby Hotel. Photo by ArQuives.
Since its construction, The Selby has undergone numerous renovations over the decades to serve its changing identities while also preserving its history and design.
In 1984, Rick Stenhouse purchased the mansion and initiated a restoration project that returned the original suites to their intended fifteen-foot ceilings, along with repair work on damaged mouldings, doorways and fireplace mantels. In the 1990s, more restoration work was carried out, including adding a property-lining wrought iron fence and repairing the slate roof.
The mansion served as The Selby Hotel until 1997, when it became a Howard Johnson Hotel and then a Clarion Hotel from 2000 to 2014.
In 2014, Tricon Residential and ERA Architects acquired the property with the goal of restoring the mansion as part of a larger development project. The building underwent its most extensive renovations yet, including the relocation of the entire thing.
Photo: ERA Architects.
The move, which occurred in two stages, saw the house shifted northeast of its original location by 100 feet.
A fifty-storey purpose-built rental complex, appropriately named The Selby, was opened in November 2018 just behind the building, and the west wall of the house was rebuilt to connect it to the new tower. The restoration project was nominated for the 2019 Heritage Toronto Awards.
Extensive work was also conducted to restore the interior of the mansion and preserve some of its original elements, including its main staircase, window shutters and door hardware.
Six original fireplaces were restored, including three of which are now part of the Maison Selby, a French bistro by Oliver & Bonacini. The mansion also houses the cocktail bar Sous Sol in its basement.
The interior of the Maison Selby. Photo by Hector Vasquez.
From a private residence to an all-girls school, a hotel, a dance club and now a restaurant and bar, the mansion has managed to miraculously survive over 140 years of transformation. Despite its urban surroundings, The Selby retains its distinct historical charm and vibrant red brick exterior that stands out against all of the modern developments around it.
