Stories of The Hotel Vancouver, actually the three Hotel Vancouvers that have been the center of social and business life in Vancouver, British Columbia since the original Hotel Vancouver opened in 1888. Each of the three Hotel Vancouvers is featured, as well as Vancouver's development as a major city.
Featuring ragtime and jazz music in the background.
Enjoy this nostalgic video about one of the finest of the Vancouver hotels.
Since 1888, visitors to Vancouver and residents have enjoyed the architecture and amenities of the Hotel Vancouver.
The current Hotel Vancouver is actually the third hotel with that name. As Vancouver grew, so too did the Hotel Vancouver.
The first Hotel Vancouver was built in 1888, one year after the Canadian Pacific Railway first arrived in the city. The first Hotel Vancouver was built by the CP railway and was 4 stories tall.
Views around it show how young Vancouver was as a city and how it grew. Here are photos from the late 1880s of the areas northeast, north and northwest of the first Hotel Vancouver downtown.
The first hotel underwent expansion multiple times and before it was demolished it had at least three wings with different architectural styles.
Vancouver continued to grow and you can see that the city around the hotel was building. Eventually, the first Hotel Vancouver was inadequate for Canada’s Pacific port and westernmost big city. These photos show how downtown Vancouver evolved in the 1890s and the first decade of the 1900s.
In 1912, the grand second Hotel Vancouver was built at the corner of West Georgia Street between Howe Street and Granville. That’s exactly two blocks east of the current location of the third hotel. It was also built by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Locals and visiting guests and celebrities enjoyed the rooftop terrace and its spectacular views. Babe Ruth was one of those early guests. Here are those views in different directions.
It was beside the old courthouse, which today is the Vancouver Art Gallery.
It was the centre of business and social life in Vancouver. Here are views of its lobby and banquet rooms. Many business meetings, conventions and Christmas parties met there. And here’s its busy driveway off West Georgia Street.
And here is a man climbing the outside of the hotel.
Its rooftop terrace remained a great way to see the city, sea and mountains.
The third Hotel Vancouver was built by the Canadian National Railway. The CNR was in competition with the CP Railway. Construction started in late 1928 and proceeded quickly at first. But then the 1930s depression hit and work was halted. There were concerns about whether Vancouver could support two big railway hotels.
And the third hotel changed Vancouver’s skyline. Here are some views of downtown during the 1930s.
In 1932, after two years of construction, the Burrard Street bridge opened. This helped move more businesses to Burrard Street.
In 1938, the Lion’s Gate Bridge opened, connecting West Georgia Street to North Vancouver, via Stanley Park. The new Hotel Vancouver was well placed at the corner of Burrard and West Georgia.
A deal was worked out between the railway companies and the third Hotel Vancouver opened in 1939, in time for the royal visit by King George VI and his wife, Elizabeth (the Queen Mother). In 1951, a young Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip stayed at the Hotel Vancouver and held a reception line.
The third hotel had a very different style than the previous hotels. The second hotel was built in the Grand Italianate Revival style. The third hotel was built in the Chateauesque architectural style.
Many Canadian railroad hotels were built in that style. Some other famous Canadian railroad hotels in that style are the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, the Fort Garry in Winnipeg and the Royal York in Toronto.
Inside the third Hotel Vancouver, you can see the Art Deco room styles and decor from the opening in 1939.
And it too hosted banquets and business meetings, although as you can see Vancouver and BC were starting to change.
The third Hotel Vancouver then simply became the Hotel Vancouver, or today the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
The downtown skyline in Vancouver grew ever more crowded and today the Hotel Vancouver is a picturesque chateau surrounded by office towers.
This is a historic Vancouver hotel tour.
Sources: chineserevolut...
15 сен 2024
