The Fort Garry Hotel
Celebrating 100 years: 222 Broadway
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/05/2013 (4558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, The Fort Garry Hotel was the first commercial building erected on Broadway and the tallest structure in the city when it was completed in 1913.
The hotel has symbolized Winnipeg’s importance as a North American transportation hub and the Prairie city’s affinity for old world elegance.
Its early prominence drew many famous guests to it including Nelson Eddy, Harry Belafonte, Charles Laughton, Laurence Olivier, Liberace, Arthur Fiedler, Louis Armstrong, Gordie Howe, Lester Pearson, as well as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who stayed during their 1939 visit to Canada.
The hotel, originally to be called The Selkirk but instead named Upper Fort Garry for the original fort near this site, is Winnipeg’s best example of the chateau style of architecture apparent in the magnificent railway hotels built across Canada before 1930, including Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier upon which architects Ross and MacFarlane of Montreal modeled the Fort Garry.
It has more than a passing similarity to New York’s famed The Plaza, built in 1906-07. Related features include the classic base, shaft and capital divisions of the skyscraper; flat facades with slightly projecting, four-bay end pavilions; an arcade of large, segmented windows below a prominent cornice and the composition of the steeply sloped roof.
One of Winnipeg’s most prestigious landmarks, the Fort Garry is celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2013. The Fort Garry has survived two world wars, two city-wide floods and the Winnipeg General Strike. Entering its second century, its success has never been more apparent.
The hotel has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
According to local folklore, Room 202 is haunted, but you’ll be safe on this guided tour as it explores the 1st and 7th floors, depending on availability.
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