Places

New Balmoral Hotel

Address:621 Balmoral Street
Current Use:

Hotel and Vendor

Original Use:

Hotel

Constructed:1965
Architects:
  • Chris Kaufman
Firms:
Contractors:
  • F W Sawatzky Construction Ltd.

Photographs

More Information

The Balmoral Hotel, 621 Balmoral Avenue, was constructed in 1965, based on a design by Chris Kaufman for Lloyd Finch Architects. Ben Zelcovitch acquired this property in 1959 and obtained liquor licenses for the new two level hotel. The site was subsequently sold to Menesha Mandel, a longtime hotelier, who felt that the upcoming Pan-American Games of 1967 provided the impetus for increased accommodation space for the growing tourist market.

The four storey hotel provided forty-five guest rooms and featured numerous amenities including a coffee shop, dining room, cocktail room, beverage lounge and three separate banquet and meeting rooms. Apart from updated signage, the hotel retains the aesthetic and structural integrity of the original design.

Design Characteristics

Materials:

Tyndall stone

  • Site plan: 79.5′ x 146.5′
  • Of particular interest, is the use of four-inch split face Tyndall limestone on the façade of the hotel (This technique uses leftover slabs and ends of stone, sheared to uniform thickness and height but random in length. The stones are fixed with metal anchors and mortared in to a backup wall. This was an economical way of obtaining the look of limestone without the expense.)
  • The west end of the main floor exterior and main entrance also use a decorative tile mural to add visual interest to the expanse of aluminum and glass on the main floor

Sources

  • “Proposed new hotel gets four licences”, Tribune, 2 June 1959.

  • “The Balmoral”, Western Construction and Building, September 1966, p. 8.

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