Russell House, Historical hotel at Sparks Street and Elgin Street, Ottawa, Canada
Russell House was a large hotel building at the corner of Sparks Street and Elgin Street in Ottawa that stretched across the intersection and underwent multiple expansions. Its ground floor contained retail spaces that continued operating after the hotel section closed.
A small hotel built on the site in the 1840s was named Campbell's Hotel after its proprietor. James Gouin bought it in 1863 and renamed it Russell House after a family he had served at a Quebec City hotel. A dining-room wing went up along Elgin Street in the 1870s, and the original building was torn down and replaced in 1880 in the Second Empire style. It closed on October 1, 1925, and burned on April 14, 1928.
The hotel's name came from a family in the United States for whom proprietor James Gouin had managed a hotel in Quebec City before he bought the place in 1863. Wilfrid Laurier lived there for ten years before moving to Laurier House, and Oscar Wilde and ballerina Anna Pavlova were among its international guests.
The hotel stood at the southeast corner of Sparks and Elgin streets, a site now occupied by Confederation Square. After the hotel closed on October 1, 1925, ground-level shops stayed open while the upper floors stood empty. The federal government was buying the property when fire destroyed the building on April 14, 1928; the land was then used to widen Elgin Street.
Governor-General Lord Stanley announced the creation of the Stanley Cup at this location in 1892, marking a memorable moment in Canadian sports history. This connection to Canada's most celebrated prize made the building a significant part of the nation's sporting identity.
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