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.

Architecture

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." The original Banff Springs Hotel, of wooden construction, was destroyed by fire in 1926 and replaced by the present structure.

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.

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. 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. 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.

Canadian National Railway The following are grand railway hotels built for Canadian National Railway, and its hotel division Canadian National Hotels. NameYear openedLocationArchitectStatusPhotoGrand Beach Hotel1920Grand Marais, ManitobaJohn SchofieldDemolished in 1962Hotel Charlottetown1931Charlottetown, Prince Edward IslandJohn Schofield, G. F. DrummondOperated by Rodd Hotels and ResortsHotel Vancouver (third)1939Vancouver, British ColumbiaArchibald and SchofieldOperated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.Jasper Park Lodge1922Jasper, AlbertaGeorge Macdonald Lang (1921 complex); John Schofield (additions after 1924); George Drummond (1952 rebuild)Burned down in 1952. Rebuilt in 1953. Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.Queen Elizabeth Hotel1958Montreal, QuebecGeorge DrummondOperated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.The Bessborough1935Saskatoon, SaskatchewanArchibald and SchofieldOperated by Delta Hotels.The Nova Scotian1930Halifax, Nova ScotiaArchibald and SchofieldOperated 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. NameYear openedLocationArchitectStatusPhotoThe Algonquin1889St. Andrew's, New BrunswickRand & 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 Hotel1888Banff, AlbertaBruce Price (original) Walter Painter (tower)

John Orrock (main block)Operated by Fairmont Hotels and ResortsCameron Lake Chalet1912Cameron Lake, British ColumbiaClosed 1966Château Champlain1966Montreal, QuebecRoger d'Astous, Jean-Paul PothierOperated by MarriottChâteau Frontenac1893Quebec City, QuebecBruce PriceOperated by Fairmont Hotels and ResortsChâteau Lake Louise1890Lake Louise, AlbertaThomas Sorby (1899–1901 additions); Francis Rattenbury (1902–06 additions);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. Walter Painter (1906–11 additions, 1912 wing); Barott & Blackader (1924 wing)Operated by Fairmont Hotels and ResortsChâteau Montebello1930Montebello, QuebecLawson and Little, with Edwin S. Kent and George W. WhiteOperated by Fairmont Hotels and ResortsEmerald Lake Lodge1902Emerald Lake, British ColumbiaPossibly Thomas Charles SorbyOperated by Canadian Rocky Mountain ResortsEmpress Hotel1908Winnipeg Beach, ManitobaHooper & WalkerDeveloped by Edward Windebank but sold to the CPR during construction. Burned down in 1935.Fraser Canyon House1897North Bend, British ColumbiaThomas Charles SorbyHarold Kalman, "Thomas Charles Sorby," in Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, (Talonbooks, 2003), 125.Burned down in 1927Glacier House 1887Glacier National Park, British ColumbiaThomas Charles Sorby, 1902 addition by Francis RattenburyDemolished in 1929Hotel Incola1912Penticton, British ColumbiaArthur Freeman PeltonDemolished in 1980Hotel Saskatchewan1927Regina, SaskatchewanRoss and MacdonaldOperated by Marriott InternationalHotel Vancouver (first)1888Vancouver, British ColumbiaThomas Charles SorbyDemolished in 1912Hotel Vancouver (second)1916Vancouver, British ColumbiaFrancis S. SwalesDonald Luxton, "Francis S. Swales," in Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, (Talonbooks, 2003), 382.Demolished in 1949Hotel Sicamous1900Sicamous, British ColumbiaEdward MaxwellDemolished in 1964Hotel Revelstoke1897Revelstoke, British ColumbiaFrancis RattenburyBarrett and Liscombe, 126.Closed in 1927 and dismantled in 1928 Kootenay Lake Hotel1911Balfour, British ColumbiaWilliam Wallace BlairDemolished in 1929McAdam Hotel1901McAdam, New BrunswickEdward MaxwellHotel closed in 1959. Building now operates as a museum.Mount Stephen House1886Field, British ColumbiaThomas Charles Sorby,Harold Kalman, "Thomas Charles Sorby," in Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, (Talonbooks, 2003), 125. 1901 addition by Francis RattenburyBarrett and Liscombe, 297.Demolished in 1963.Palliser Hotel1914Calgary, AlbertaE. and W.S. MaxwellOperated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.Place Viger1898Montreal, QuebecBruce PriceHotel closed in 1935. Now used as office building.Royal Alexandra Hotel1911Winnipeg, ManitobaE. and W. S. MaxwellHotel closed in 1967. Demolished in 1971.Royal York1929Toronto, OntarioRoss and Macdonald; Sproatt and RolphOperated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.The Empress1908Victoria, British ColumbiaFrancis RattenburyBarrett and Liscombe, 300.Operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

Dominion Atlantic Railway The Dominion Atlantic Railway was purchased by the CPR in 1911, however, it retained its operational independence. NameYear openedLocationArchitectStatusPhotoCornwallis Inn1930Kentville, Nova ScotiaJohn Wilson Orrock and Colin M. DrewittDigby Pines1905; 1929Digby, Nova ScotiaRailway purchased the hotel in 1917, rebuilt in 1929. Independently operated.Lakeside Inn1931Yarmouth, Nova ScotiaJohn Wilson Orrock and Colin M. DrewittHotel closed in 1960; now the Villa Saint-Joseph du LacLord Nelson Hotel1927Halifax, Nova ScotiaO. C. GrossOperated independently.

Grand Trunk Railway The following are grand railway hotels built for Grand Trunk Railway and its western subsidiary, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. NameYear openedLocationArchitectStatusPhotoChâteau Laurier1912Ottawa, OntarioBradford Gilbert, Ross and MacfarlaneOperated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.Fort Garry Hotel1913Winnipeg, ManitobaRoss and MacdonaldOperated independently.Highland Inn1908Algonquin Park, OntarioClosed in 1954. Demolished in 1957.Hotel Macdonald1915Edmonton, AlbertaRoss and MacfarlaneOperated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.Minaki Lodge1914Minaki, OntarioGeorge Carruthers BriggsBurned down in 2003

Great Northern Railway NameYear openedLocationArchitectStatusPhotoPrince of Wales Hotel1927Waterton, AlbertaThomas D. McMahon Operated by Pursuit Collection

Newfoundland Railway The Newfoundland Railway was purchased by CN 1949; it retained its operational independence as part of Terra Transport. NameYear openedLocationArchitectStatusPhotoHotel Newfoundland1926St. John's, NewfoundlandSir Aston WebbDemolished in 1983; replaced with a new hotel by Fairmont Hotels

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