The City Hotel, London, Ontario

I loved the Talbot Inn !! .. so sad to see it's faded into memory..

Thank you for sharing.

I found an old beverage menu with the Hotel name on the front, as well as The Horse Shoe Lounge. Inside it shows various drinks offered. the back cover has a writeup on the Hotel and signed by the manager, Ivan Siskind.

That's amazing. If you would like to bring it to the London Room collection, I'm sure we would pleased to look at it.

I'm curious to know if the William Balkwill refered to here is the same Balkwill who started the Brewery which was destined to later become "Labatts Brewery" under John Labatt?

It seems likely. Here is a part of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry for John Kinder Labatt: "This (the original Labatt brewery) was the oldest brewery in London, having been established by John Balkwill in 1827–28, then acquired by William Balkwill and Thomas W. Shepherd before it was sold to Eccles in 1847. Labatt and Eccles, as the firm was called, was soon producing three brands, XXX, XX, and X; Labatt prospered sufficiently to be able to buy Eccles’ interest when the latter retired in 1854." Thanks for your question.

Do you know if there was any ghost sightings, or hauntings at the hotel?

We don't know of any. However, you might want to consult the Haunted Ontario books by Terry Doyle. We have four of the series in our system.

My father, Tom Grantham was the manager at the Belvedere Hotel for several years. I remember spending afternoons there as a child.

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing your reminiscence.