Grand railway hotels of Canada

Canada's grand railway hotels are a series of railway hotels across the country, each a local and national landmark, and most of which are icons of Canadian history and architecture; some are considered to be the grand hotels of the British Empire. Each hotel was originally built by the Canadian railway companies, or the railways acted as a catalyst for the hotel's construction. The hotels were designed to serve the passengers of the country's then expanding rail network, and they celebrated rail travel in style.

Banff Springs Hotel is one of several grand railway hotels built across the country.

Architecture
Interior rotunda view of the Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg circa 1909
Interior rotunda view of the Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg
The Château Frontenac is an early example of a Canadian Châteauesque-styled hotel. The style was used for many of Canada's railway hotels.

Many of the railway hotels were built in the Château style (also termed the "Neo-château" or "Châteauesque" style), which as a result became known as a distinctly Canadian form of architecture. The use of towers and turrets, and other Scottish baronial and French château architectural elements, became a signature style of Canada's majestic hotels. Architects also used the style for important public buildings, such as the Confederation and Justice buildings in Ottawa.

In later years, the railway companies departed from the Château style for some of their properties, notably with the construction of Winnipeg's Royal Alexandra Hotel in 1906; the Palliser Hotel in Calgary, built in 1914; and the elaborate second Hotel Vancouver, designed in grand Italianate style, unlike any of the previous Canadian railway hotels.

History

Canada's first grand railway hotel, the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, opened in 1878. Although it was not owned by a railway company, it was built to serve railway visitors from nearby Windsor Station. Given its location next to Montreal's main train station, the Windsor served for years as the permanent residence of executives of both the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and Grand Trunk Railway.

The railways' development role in the construction and operation of large hotels was inaugurated with Canadian Pacific Railway's opening of the Hotel Vancouver on May 16, 1888. This was the first of three railway-owned hotels by that name in Vancouver. Two weeks later, the Canadian Pacific Railway officially opened the Banff Springs Hotel on June 1, 1888. The president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, William Cornelius Van Horne, had personally chosen the site in the Rocky Mountains for the new hotel. He envisioned a string of grand hotels across Canada that would draw visitors from abroad to his railway. Van Horne famously remarked: "If we can't export the scenery, we'll import the tourists."[1] The original Banff Springs Hotel, of wooden construction, was destroyed by fire in 1926 and replaced by the present structure.[2]

Situated in Downtown Toronto, the Royal York is the largest railway hotel built in Canada.

Canadian Pacific next built the Château Frontenac in Quebec City, which quickly came to be the symbol of the city. It was designed to rival any hotel in Europe. Its elevated location overlooking the city also made it a readily identifiable landmark as viewed from passing trains as well as ships plying the waters of the Saint Lawrence River en route to or from Montreal. Place Viger followed in Montreal, followed by The Empress in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Château Lake Louise in Alberta. The largest of the railway hotels is the Royal York in Toronto, which opened in 1929.

The main competitor to Canadian Pacific, the Grand Trunk Railway, was not prepared to leave the field solely to its rival. It also determined to build a chain of luxury hotels across the country, which it did in the château style. The GTR built the Château Laurier in Ottawa in 1912, with the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg and the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton following in 1913 and 1915 respectively.

Opened in 1958, the Queen Elizabeth Hotel was the last railway hotel built in Canada.

The GTR was amalgamated into the Canadian National Railway (CNR) in 1920. During the decades that followed, the hotel divisions of CPR and CNR, Canadian National Hotels and Canadian Pacific Hotels, continued to expand their competing hotel chains across the country. The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, built in 1958 over that city's Central Station, was perhaps the last true railway hotel built in Canada. Both railways continued to open new establishments in subsequent years, although none had any connection to the railways, except through their ownership.

In 1988, Canadian Pacific acquired Canadian National Hotels.[3] For the first time, many of Canada's railway hotels were operated by the same company. In 2001, Canadian Pacific Hotels was renamed Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, using the name of an American company it had purchased in 1999.[4] Fairmont continues to operate most of Canada's landmark hotels (see Canadian Pacific Hotels).

Inventory

The majority of Canada's grand railway hotels were built by three railway companies, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, and Grand Trunk Railway. However, a few railway hotels were built and operated by other companies. Great Northern Railway was the only American company that built a railway hotel in Canada, the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton, Alberta.

Canadian National Railway

The following are grand railway hotels built for Canadian National Railway, and its hotel division Canadian National Hotels.

Name Year opened Location Architect Status Photo
Grand Beach Hotel 1920 Grand Marais, Manitoba John Schofield[5] Demolished in 1962
Hotel Charlottetown 1931 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island John Schofield, G. F. Drummond[6] Operated by Rodd Hotels and Resorts
Hotel Newfoundland 1926 St. John's, Newfoundland Possibly Ross and Macdonald Demolished in 1983
Hotel Vancouver (third)[note 1] 1939 Vancouver, British Columbia Archibald and Schofield[7] Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
Jasper Park Lodge 1922 Jasper, Alberta George Macdonald Lang (1921 complex);[8] John Schofield (additions after 1924);[9] George Drummond (1952 rebuild)[10] Burned down in 1952. Rebuilt in 1953. Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
Queen Elizabeth Hotel 1958 Montreal, Quebec George Drummond[11] Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
The Bessborough 1935 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Archibald and Schofield[12] Operated by Delta Hotels.
The Nova Scotian 1930 Halifax, Nova Scotia Archibald and Schofield[13] Operated by Westin Hotels & Resorts.

Canadian Pacific Railway

The following are grand railway hotels built for Canadian Pacific Railway, and its hotel division Canadian Pacific Hotels.

Name Year opened Location Architect Status Photo
The Algonquin 1889 St. Andrew's, New Brunswick Rand & Taylor (1899 hotel); Barott Blackadder and Webster (1915 hotel) Purchased by CPR in 1903. Original building burned down in 1914. The current building opened a year later. Operated by New Castle Hotels & Resorts.
Banff Springs Hotel 1888 Banff, Alberta Bruce Price (original)

Walter Painter (tower)

John Orrock (main block)

 Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Cameron Lake Chalet 1912 Cameron Lake, British Columbia Closed 1966
Château Frontenac 1893 Quebec City, Quebec Bruce Price Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Château Lake Louise 1890 Lake Louise, Alberta Thomas Sorby (1899–1901 additions); Francis Rattenbury (1902–06 additions);[14] Walter Painter (1906–11 additions, 1912 wing); Barott & Blackader (1924 wing) Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Château Montebello 1930 Montebello, Quebec Lawson and Little, with Edwin S. Kent and George W. White[15] Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Emerald Lake Lodge 1902 Emerald Lake, British Columbia Possibly Thomas Charles Sorby Operated by Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts
Empress Hotel 1908 Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba Hooper & Walker[16] Developed by Edward Windebank but sold to the CPR during construction. Burned down in 1935.
Fraser Canyon House 1897 North Bend, British Columbia Thomas Charles Sorby[17][18] Burned down in 1927
Glacier House 1887 Glacier National Park, British Columbia Thomas Charles Sorby, 1902 addition by Francis Rattenbury Demolished in 1929
Hotel Incola 1912 Penticton, British Columbia Arthur Freeman Pelton[19] Demolished in 1980
Hotel Saskatchewan 1927 Regina, Saskatchewan Ross and Macdonald Operated by Marriott International
Hotel Vancouver (first) 1888 Vancouver, British Columbia Thomas Charles Sorby[20] Demolished in 1912
Hotel Vancouver (second) 1916 Vancouver, British Columbia Francis S. Swales[21] Demolished in 1949
Hotel Sicamous 1900 Sicamous, British Columbia Edward Maxwell Demolished in 1964
Hotel Revelstoke 1897 Revelstoke, British Columbia Francis Rattenbury[22] Closed in 1927 and dismantled in 1928
Kootenay Lake Hotel 1911 Balfour, British Columbia William Wallace Blair[23] Demolished in 1929
McAdam Hotel 1901 McAdam, New Brunswick Edward Maxwell Hotel closed in 1959. Building now operates as a museum.
Mount Stephen House 1886 Field, British Columbia Thomas Charles Sorby,[24] 1901 addition by Francis Rattenbury[25] Demolished in 1963.
Palliser Hotel 1914 Calgary, Alberta E. and W.S. Maxwell Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
Place Viger 1898 Montreal, Quebec Bruce Price Hotel closed in 1935. Now used as office building.
Royal Alexandra Hotel 1911 Winnipeg, Manitoba E. and W. S. Maxwell Hotel closed in 1967. Demolished in 1971.
Royal York 1929 Toronto, Ontario Ross and Macdonald;

Sproatt and Rolph

 Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
The Empress 1908 Victoria, British Columbia Francis Rattenbury[26] Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

Grand Trunk Railway

The following are grand railway hotels built for Grand Trunk Railway and its western subsidiary, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.

Name Year opened Location Architect Status Photo
Château Laurier 1912 Ottawa, Ontario Bradford Gilbert, Ross and Macfarlane Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
Fort Garry Hotel 1913 Winnipeg, Manitoba Ross and Macdonald Operated independently.
Highland Inn 1908 Algonquin Park, Ontario Closed in 1954. Demolished in 1957.
Hotel Macdonald 1915 Edmonton, Alberta Ross and Macfarlane Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
Minaki Lodge 1914 Minaki, Ontario George Carruthers Briggs[27] Burned down in 2003

Dominion Atlantic Railway

The Dominion Atlantic was purchased by the CPR in 1911, however, it retained its operational independence.

Name Year opened Location Architect Status Photo
Cornwallis Inn 1930 Kentville, Nova Scotia John Wilson Orrock and Colin M. Drewitt[28]
Digby Pines 1905; 1929 Digby, Nova Scotia Railway purchased the hotel in 1917, rebuilt in 1929. Independently operated.
Lakeside Inn 1931 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia John Wilson Orrock and Colin M. Drewitt[29] Hotel closed in 1960; now the Villa Saint-Joseph du Lac
Lord Nelson Hotel 1927 Halifax, Nova Scotia Warren and Wetmore[30] Operated independently.

Other companies

In addition to Canadian National Railways, Canadian Pacific Railways, and Grand Trunk Railways, several other companies built "grand railway hotels" in Canada. The Prince of Wales Hotel is the only grand railway hotel to be built by an American company, Great Northern Railway.

Name Year opened Location Architect Railway Current status Photo
Prince Arthur Hotel 1911 Thunder Bay, Ontario Warren and Wetmore[31] Canadian Northern Railway Independently operated.
Prince Edward Hotel 1916 Brandon, Manitoba Pratt and Ross[32] Canadian Northern Railway Closed in 1976 and demolished in 1980.
Prince of Wales Hotel 1927 Waterton, Alberta Thomas D. McMahon Great Northern Railway Operated by Glacier Park Company.

Unexecuted projects
Name Location Architect Railway Notes Image
Campanile Hotel Victoria, British Columbia Francis Rattenbury Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Was to be built on the current site of the Royal British Columbia Museum. In January 1913, construction was said to be starting that spring. Project revived in 1928 but cancelled at the start of the depression.[33]
Château Miette Miette, Alberta Francis Rattenbury Grand Trunk Pacific Railway A 250-room hotel. Design included a centre block flanked by two three-storey wings.[34]
Château Mount Robson Mount Robson, British Columbia Francis Rattenbury Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Rattenbury devised two concepts for the hotel. The first had a low central block with six three-storey bedroom wings radiating out. The second was a tower block similar in design to the Empress. The former appears to have been preferred.[35]
Château Prince Rupert Prince Rupert, British Columbia Francis Rattenbury Grand Trunk Pacific Railway To have had a main block of 12 storeys with two nine-storey wings. Foundation trenches dug in 1913, project then abandoned. The development was also to include ocean and railway terminals.[36]
Château Qu'Appelle Regina, Saskatchewan Ross and Macdonald Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
Fort George Hotel Prince George, British Columbia Holabird & Roche[37] Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
Hotel Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia Francis Rattenbury Canadian Pacific Railway In 1900, Rattenbury designed a château-style hotel to replace Sorby's 1888 building. The design was later adapted for The Empress. He redesigned the project in 1902 in a Renaissance style. One wing of this was built.[38]
Hotel Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia Warren and Wetmore Canadian National Railway In 1926 Warren and Wetmore designed a $5 million hotel for the CNR. Their design was passed over for that of John S. Archibald (see Hotel Vancouver).[39]
Donaldson Hotel Willow River, British Columbia Holabird & Roche[40] Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
Glacier House Glacier, British Columbia John Thomas Alexander[41] Canadian Pacific Railway After the Glacier House resort closed in 1925, in 1926 the railway planned a new, five-storey, Château-style hotel on the site.[42] That same year, architect Alexander designed an addition to the Banff Springs.
Mountain Inn Jasper, Alberta Francis Rattenbury Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Likely intended for the site that was later used for the Jasper Park Lodge.[43]
Winnipeg Hotel Winnipeg, Manitoba Edward Maxwell Canadian Pacific Railway A station-hotel similar to the Place Viger. Designed by Maxwell in 1899 and drafted by David MacFarlane. Four years later the Royal Alexandra Hotel was built instead.[44]

See also

Notes
  1. Although the hotel was initially developed by Canadian National Railways, its completion required the company to partner with rival Canadian Pacific Railways. The hotel was jointly managed by both companies until Canadian National Railways acquired full ownership of the hotel in 1962.

References
  1. Chisholm, Barbara, ed. (2001). Castles of the North: Canada's Grand Hotels. Toronto: Lynx Images Inc. ISBN 1-894073-14-2.
  2. "History of The Fairmont Banff Springs". Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  3. "CP's hotel takeover makes it king of hill". Red Deer Advocate. 8 February 1988. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "CP hotels take Fairmont name". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc. 9 December 2000. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. "Schofield, John | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  6. "Schofield, John | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  7. "Schofield, John | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  8. "Lang, George Macdonald | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  9. "Schofield, John | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  10. "Drummond, George Fairly | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  11. "Drummond, George Fairly | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  12. "Schofield, John | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  13. "Schofield, John | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  14. Anthony A. Barrett and Rhodri Liscombe, Francis Rattenbury and British Columbia: Architecture and Challenge in the Imperial Age, (University of British Columbia Press, 1983), 299.
  15. "Lawson, Harold | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  16. "Hooper, Samuel | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  17. "Sorby, Thomas Charles | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  18. Harold Kalman, "Thomas Charles Sorby," in Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, (Talonbooks, 2003), 125.
  19. "Pelton, Arthur Freeman | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  20. "Sorby, Thomas Charles | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  21. Donald Luxton, "Francis S. Swales," in Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, (Talonbooks, 2003), 382.
  22. Barrett and Liscombe, 126.
  23. "Blair, William Wallace | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  24. Harold Kalman, "Thomas Charles Sorby," in Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, (Talonbooks, 2003), 125.
  25. Barrett and Liscombe, 297.
  26. Barrett and Liscombe, 300.
  27. "Briggs, George Carruthers | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  28. "Drewitt, Colin Minors | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  29. "Drewitt, Colin Minors | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  30. "Warren, Whitney | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  31. "Warren, Whitney | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  32. "Pratt, Ralph Benjamin | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  33. Anthony A. Barrett and Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, Francis Rattenbury and British Columbia: Architecture and Challenge in the Imperial Age, (UBC Press, 1983), 305, 307.
  34. Barrett and Liscombe, 305.
  35. Barrett and Liscombe, 305.
  36. Barrett and Liscombe, 305.
  37. Robert Bruegmann, Holabird & Roche, Holabird & Root: An Illustrated Catalog of Works, (Garland Publishing, 1991).
  38. Barrett and Liscombe, 296-7.
  39. "Warren, Whitney | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  40. Bruegmann.
  41. David Finch, A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, 1884-1930, (Environment Canada, 1987), 81.
  42. David A. A. Finch, A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, 1884–1930, (Environment Canada, 1987), 81.
  43. Barrett and Liscombe, 306.
  44. Rose, David (1993). "The Canadian Railway Hotel Revisited: The Chateau Style Hotels of Ross & MacFarlane". Bulletin (Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada). 18 (2): 40.

Further reading
  • Chisholm, Barbara, ed. (2001). Castles of the North : Canada's grand hotels. Toronto: Lynx Images. ISBN 978-1-894073-14-1.
  • Kalman, Harold D. The Railway Hotels and the Development of the Château Style in Canada. University of Victoria, 1968.
  • Knowles, Valerie (2004). From Telegrapher to Titan: The Life of William C. Van Horne. Toronto: Dundurn Group. ISBN 1-55002-488-4.
  • Liscombe, Rhodri Windsor. “Nationalism or Cultural Imperialism? The Château Style in Canada.” Architectural History, vol. 36, 1993, pp. 127–144.
  • Rose, David (1993). "The Canadian Railway Hotel Revisited: The Chateau Style Hotels of Ross & MacFarlane". Bulletin (Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada). 18 (2): 32–42. hdl:10222/71283. ISSN 0228-0744.
  • Thomas, Christopher. " 'Canadian Castles?' The Question of National Styles in Architecture Revisited." Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 32 no. 1, 1997, pp. 5-27.
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