Toronto's iconic Dominion Hotel was just listed for under $5 million

The corner property at 500 Queen St. E — better known in Toronto as the Dominion Hotel — is now up for sale, asking $4,995,000.

Built in 1889 and designed by David Roberts Jr. — the same architect behind the iconic Gooderham (Flatiron) Building — the Dominion Hotel was never meant to be subtle.

Old photos show a seriously ornate building, with intricate cut-glass transoms, tall shop windows, a mansard roof with dormers, and even a stubby tower rising above the corner — the kind of architectural drama that made 19th-century inns feel like destinations in their own right.

The exterior of 500 Queen St. E. 

Toronto actually had hundreds of them at the turn of the 20th century, and the Dominion was right in the mix when it opened around 1890 at Queen and Sumach.

But like a lot of heritage buildings in the city, things didn't exactly age gracefully.

At some point, the Dominion lost its entire fourth floor and tower to a fire — and with it, what's believed to have been a performance space.

The interior of the ground floor. 

Then came the 1970s and '80s, when the building's original stonework and brick were painted over in grey and burgundy, and its large windows were filled in with cheap materials. Natural light was basically an afterthought.

By 1980, the building had taken on a much grittier role. A Toronto newspaper reported the hotel was cashing welfare cheques early for a fee — a detail that says a lot about both the building and the city at that moment in time.

Major restoration work was completed in 2024. 

Thankfully, in recent years, a major restoration led by ERA brought some of that lost character back.

The paint was stripped to reveal the original stone and brick, damaged sandstone carvings were repaired, and missing architectural elements — like parts of the cornice — were recreated using specialized materials.

One of the biggest changes? The ground-floor, which was previously home to the Dominion Pub and Dominion on Queen.

The new windows. 

For decades, the original shop windows had been bricked in. During the restoration, they were reopened and reimagined with a more modern, cleaner, geometric look.

Restored floor tiles and metal ceiling tiles. 

Inside, original terrazzo floors, metal ceiling tiles, and wood panelling were preserved, and the space now houses the Los Gyros restaurant, which has added its own personality — including black-light artwork tucked just behind the windows.

Upstairs, things are a bit less glamorous but very much part of Toronto's housing reality: the upper floors are currently configured as a 24-unit rooming house.

Los Gyros bar. 

Altogether, the building is now a mixed-use investment property, with a fully leased ground-floor tenant providing steady income and the potential for future repositioning — subject, of course, to city approvals and heritage constraints.

For now, though, the Dominion Hotel exists in that very Toronto in-between: part restored heritage gem, part income property, part question mark.

An aerial view of the neighbourhood. 

It's not quite the lavish Victorian hotspot it once was. It's not yet whatever it might become next.