Accommodation and refreshment.
Details of Site Location: The northeast corner of Main and Dufferin Streets (now Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue)
PDM: TBA
Boundary History: The hotel occupied a large corner building lot of about a half acre.
Current Use of Property: Eagle Manor, a senior citizens’ apartment building and business complex.
Historical Description: Begun as a tavern in 1849, the Eagle House Hotel was built in 1870 with 26 bedrooms. There was a large auditorium on the upper floor, which was used for public meetings or those of fraternal organizations, and for dances, roller skating, and in later years billiards. At the rear was a water tank with a windmill. The tank was hand- pumped daily to provide water for the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen. This hotel had a reputation for fine meals. Built of red brick with yellow quoins and arches over the doorways and windows, it had a gracious curved roof supported by pillars and ornamented with gingerbread projecting from the first storey, which overhung the sidewalk. The main roof was gabled with two dormers, each having twin arched windows. The hotel had a number of permanent guests and, in 1912, the yearly rent for a room was $200. It was in 1969 that the hotel was demolished, after serving for a few years as a garage; the garage kept the eagle on the weathervane at the centre of the roof.
Relative Importance: As an early Weston hotel and dining room, and the focal point of much social activity, the hotel was important in the development of Weston’s community spirit.
Planning Implications: A plaque on the exterior of Eagle Manor is recommended, commemorating the hotel.
Reference Sources: Files of Weston Historical Society; Weston Historical Society, A Pictorial History of Weston.