Oldest Toronto Hotels

One day last summer, my friend Tim decided to do something he called "Ye Olde Pub Crawl". According to him there are only a few pubs/hotels over 100.
Tim wanted to visit as many of these places as possible and sample their fare.

So, off we went on our historical adventure.
The first stop was the Gladstone Hotel at 1214 Queen West.

Here is Tim at the bar.
According to Wikipedia, this establishment is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Toronto. It has been lovingly restored, and even kept the bar and event space open during renovations.

This is the original hand-driven elevator, that still works...so Tim and I took a ride up to the third floor gallery and walked back down afterwards.

Now the Dominion Hotel was closed at the time we ventured east on Queen Street.
This pub was a natural extension to the Dominion Brewery located just west of Sumach. This was an active brewery until 1936, and is now an upscale office block.

At the Black Bull Hotel/Tavern, the bartender told us that this place was the oldest in Toronto.

This is a drawing of the hotel (Source: Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto - 1894).

Here is Tim on the patio of the Black Bull.
 

When we arrived at the Wheat Sheaf, and told the folks there that the Black Bull was the oldest, they disagreed.
The signage over the entrance to this pub says "A Toronto tradition since 1849"

 
Here is Tim perusing the menu at the last stop.
And that was our pub tour for today.
I was certainly ready for a nap after all that beer and food; not to mention the walking.
Tim also wanted to visit the Brunswick, but it was closed as well...apparently only opens at 4 pm.