Product Spotlight: The Royal Hotel’s Restoration With Ferrier Wire’s Expanded Metal

The Royal Hotel, located on Main Street in Picton, Ontario was built in 1879 and was considered a prestigious destination for travellers from near and far.  It was an impressive brick building with an ornate iron balcony running along the full length of the structure. Sadly, over time the clientele and economy changed, and the hotel closed its doors. For over a decade, the hotel sat untouched and eventually was boarded up and became a possible candidate for demolition.

A local family saw the severe disrepair of the hotel and purchased the building in 2013 with the goal to restore The Royal to its former prestigious form. The goal was to make it a destination for attracting travellers once again. The plan was to preserve as much of the original property as possible but the building was in such disrepair that this was impossible. Extensive restorations began in 2016 and took approximately 5 years to complete. The results are stunning. Guest suites are tastefully decorated and are named after Ontario apple varieties as an homage to the local orchards. The beautiful restaurant has a very unique ceiling detail that reminds one of the undersides of a mushroom. The restaurant also boasts seasonal and locally available ingredients with an open-concept kitchen and a gorgeous patio surrounded by lush gardens. There is also a Finnish-inspired sauna at the spa where guests can relax. The Royal is now a beautiful mix of contemporary and traditional design while keeping its place as an important piece of history in this small town.

Giannone Petricone Associates, architects for this project, incorporated several Ferrier Wire Ampliato expanded metal products both on the inside and the outside of this project. In the interior one of the patterns is used around the elevator and along the walls of the staircase. This decorative metal screen is reminiscent of accordion-like doors from antique elevators. The Ampliato MS 0020 pattern is used outside as background for the signage out front and as railing infill material at a side door entrance. Further around the back, another pattern is installed as railing infill material around the patio. Ivy, trees and other greenery weave through the openings of the material to bring nature to the patio.  The Ampliato range of products is a family of expanded metal for architectural, design and industrial applications. Standard metals are aluminum, mild steel and stainless steel. The Ampliato products used in The Royal Hotel project are mild steel powder coated to protect them from the elements. 

If you have any questions about The Royal Hotel please visit: https://www.theroyalhotel.ca/ or GPAIA: https://www.gpaia.com/  If you have any questions about the Ampliato line of products, please feel free to call us at 416-769-5280 or email us at info@ferrierwire.com.