The consortium was formed to construct an opulent new hotel to symbolize the city's growing prominence and wealth.

As of 1889, the hotel was accessed by visitors from outside of Montreal through Windsor Station, which was designed by New York architect Bruce Price).

Sarah Bernhardt, Mark Twain, Dolores Costello, Rudyard Kipling, Fanny Davenport, Lillie Langtry and Oscar Wilde were among the Windsor's famous guests in its early years.

The fire did not adversely impact the hotel's success or reputation, but simply prompted significant renovations and the addition of a new wing, known as the Windsor Annex,[1] to the north of the original building.

The crowds were so large that one man died of a heart attack, many others collapsed due to heat and exhaustion, and the police found 64 children that had been separated from their parents.

At a state banquet in the hotel prepared by chef Gabriel Meunier, Montreal's francophone mayor, Camillien Houde, famously remarked in his address to the monarchs: "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming.

The North Annex was all that remained of the Windsor Hotel, but it did contain 200 guest rooms, two ballrooms and Peacock Alley.

Peacock Alley and a number of marble staircases have been preserved, and the two ballrooms are still used for banquets, wedding receptions and conferences.

During their 1988 and 1999 renovations, the restaurant restored and preserved a number of the North Annex's original architectural and design features, included ornate plaster ceilings, arched stained glass windows, and Austrian crystal chandeliers.