Anyone who has been to Banff has likely seen and even explored the iconic Banff Springs Hotel but how (and why) did this behemoth of a structure end up perched atop a random mountain in Banff? Well that story actually starts in Ottawa.
The Canadian Railway Bill (1881)
The Canadian Pacific Railway was heavily funded by the Canadian government in their efforts to colonize the west and to connect British Colombia to the rest of the Canadian provinces. They had just succeeded in connecting the lines in 1885 and now they needed to actually entice people to make their way westward. The Canadian Pacific Railway was one of the big reasons that Canada’s first Prime Minister – John A. Macdonald – lost political power in 1873 to Alexander Mackenzie. In 1978, he would become Prime Minister once again but to retain power he would need to appease the powerful railway folks[17].
The Canadian Railway Bill was passed a few years later in 1881 and this would give Canadian Pacific Railway immense amounts of power in the west – and the resources to use it. The passing of this bill ‘gifted’ the C.P.R. about 25 million acres of land, 25 million dollars (~$730 million today), and a 20 year monopoly on western railroad development. The railway bill was reasonably popular among constituents because it would develop the western market for the east, connect the eastern market for the west, and improve the economy throughout the prairies. It was seen as a victory for the railroad, the settlers in the west, and the businessmen in Toronto and Quebec. After all: good infrastructure seems to be extremely important in the development of economies[17].
The Start of the Hotels
Part of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s obligations of connecting the country was to develop facilities for rest and relaxation along the transcontinental route to encourage travel within Canada. The railway decided that grandiose hotels were the way to accomplish this. Simple accommodations would have sufficed, but Canadian Pacific instead opted to put every effort into making the hotels overly elegant. Much of this was due to William Cornelius Van Horne – the general manager of the Canadian Pacific – who had already experienced the grandeur of the west and saw opportunity to capitalize on it. Essentially the government’s intent was to get towns and people out west to build the economy, but under Van Horne’s guidance the Canadian Pacific set to work making the Rocky Mountains a tourist destination. After all – massive, luxurious hotels appearing as majestic as the surround mountains does make a railroad look very good on the global scale![17]
Three smaller hotels were constructed in British Columbia (North Bend, Field, and Rogers Pass) all with a similar design to each other – a three story center with two differing height wings extending out in opposite directions. These were consider ‘test’ hotel designs for the future Banff hotel. Van Horne decided to construct the Banff hotel within Rocky Mountain Park at the place where the Bow River and Spray River joined. At the time, Banff wasn’t really much of a tourist town yet and people lived there out of necessity – either railway workers, or miners. Van Horne predicted that the nearby hot springs would be a major tourism draw for the Banff area and this factored into his decision[17].
Building the Banff Springs Hotel
The railway settled on a design combining elements of Victorian era architecture (visually attractive and clean), with 16th century French chateaux (turrets and steep roofs – perfect for Canadian winters). With a unique ‘Canadian’ design style – and a location – the Canadian Pacific Railway got started on constructing the Banff Springs Hotel[17].
In the fall of 1886, the foundations were laid. It can be assumed that much of the labour was Chinese workers as well as workers from nearby Banff. The original Banff Springs Hotel is described in a 1887 Winnipeg Newspaper article as being “a mammouth affair, and to contain 250 beds. It is to be constructed entirely of timber , three stories in height with a dormer in the roof, and a basement excavated in rock; it will be in two main wings, the front being the largest, and this will contain a rotunda, rising to the height of the building, and an elevator”[17].
Opening of the Hotel
The original Banff Springs Hotel was completed in 1888 and early on, it often fell short of the expectations of guests. The Canadian Pacific Railway marketed stays in the Banff Springs Hotel as being luxurious and elegant however in reality, the hotel was a timber structure perched underwhelmingly on top of the mountain. It certainly fell short of the luxury standards in the east. The hotel in years following would obtain a certain uniqueness to it because of the design choices and was even described as “comfortable and daring.” Needless to say, the original Banff Springs Hotel was seen less as a destination and more as a stopover point for rail travelers heading to Vancouver. Nevertheless however, the Banff Springs Hotel began to gain a reputation among locals as being “The Hotel” despite the fact that Banff by 1900 had 7 other hotels[17].
Within a decade, the Banff Springs Hotel had a reputation of being one of North America’s top mountain hotels and with it came more tourists and international reputation[17].