One King West - World's Narrowest Condominium Tower (it also has hotel rooms)
Toronto, Ontario - This hotel/condomimium tower rises from an Ontario Heritage Building, which originally served as the Toronto Dominion Bank in the late 1800's. While most towers go up 4 or 6 feet for every foot of width at the base, this 51-storey tower shots up 11 feet for every foot of width at its base. In addition to being the world's narrowest condominium tower, it is the tallest residental tower in Canada. And, another really cool feature is that it still has its original room-size bank vault, which can bee seen at the bottom of a flight of steps in the centre of the Lobby. When the vault was originally hauled by 25 horses along Yonge St to the bank, the street was so chewed up it had to be repaved. The vault is actually large enough that it's used today for small events and dinner parties. In all there are 572 rooms, 300 of which are in the hotel pool and available to visitors.
Where: Located in the heart of downtown Toronto at the financial district, at One King West.The hotel sits at the corner of King & Yonge St - which, at 1896 km, Guinness has recognized as the longest street in the world. It's within easy walking distance of excellent shopping at the Toronto Eaton Centre, entertainment venues and fine dining.
| In the News: During the spring of 2011 the hotel has gone through a $2-million revitalization. This has included upgrades to the Lobby, historic Grand Hall, and venue spaces, such as the hotel's Vault and its dining area Bistro on King, which serves a breakfast buffet. The historic elegance of the meeting spaces, from paneled walls to crystal chandeliers, has been retained. One million dollars has been dedicated to improving energy efficency within the building. For example in the King Gallery new LED lighting provides five times more light and one-tenth of the power. |  |
Tower Photo by Lucy Izon. Valut Photo courtesy One King West.
Lucy Izon
Canada Cool is produced by award-winning Canadian travel writer & speaker Lucy Izon. Her travel stories & reports have appeared in numerous leading North American publications including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul. Bio page
Canada’s Coolest:
Welcome to a new feature on Canada Cool. I'll be presenting different 'Coolest' lists with my favorites and I encourage you to nominate suggestions from your own experiences. You can Twitter @CanadaCool or email Lucy@CanadaCool.com. Let me know what makes your suggestion exceptionally cool. Remember, by contributing your comments you are giving Canada Cool permission to quote you. Only a selection of submissions will be included, but all comments and submissions are greatly appreciated!
The first feature is: Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives
Here are some of my favorites...
The Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta - This 229 km (142 mi) Rocky Mountain route from Banff/Lake Louise to Jasper passes 100 frozen rivers and nudges the base of the Athabasca Glacier - the most accessible glacier in the world. You can stop and explore it. It spills down from the Columbia Icefield, an area of ice so massive that you could fit the entire population of North America on it with each person getting at least a square metre of space.
The Corridor, Algonquin Park, Ontario – this 56-km stretch of Hwy 60 cuts through the southwest section of Algonquin Park. Less than three hours north of Toronto the park is a nature-lover's paradise with 7,725 km of lakes, rivers, forest, trails, camping, comfortable lodges and 2000 km of canoe routes. Offers hiking trails to stop and enjoy, but what makes it really cool is that it’s one of the best places in North America to spot moose (especially in May and June). And, on Thursday nights in August up to 600 cars will gather to listen to wolves howl.
The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia – Driving this 303 km (187 mile) route is like riding a roller-coaster: the road snakes around hairpin turns, rises to heights over 365 metres (1200 ft), weaves around headlands revealing spectacular coastal scenery, and plunges down to sea level taking you into the heart of small fishing communities. The most dramatic scenery is between the Cape Breton Highlands National Park entrance near Cheticamp and Pleasant Bay, so go slow. And, plan some flexibility into your schedule, so you can drive it on a clear day.
And here are some of your nominations for 'Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives'...
More from Canada’s Coolest
'Canada's Coolest' topics we'll be publishing in the future:
- Golf Course Features
- Haunted Hotels
- Hotel Special Services
Send your suggestions to lucy@CanadaCool.com
Recent 'Canada's Coolest' topics:
