The oldest hotel in northeast Winnipeg

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This article was published 30/12/2020 (881 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The LaSalle Hotel at 346 Nairn Ave. is the oldest hotel in the Elmwood, East Kildonan and North Kildonan area, built in 1914 at a cost of $130,000. It was not the first hotel in Elmwood, though; that honour belonged to the Riverview Hotel built in 1906 at 322 Nairn but it was destroyed by fire just a few years later.

The LaSalle was built by John Beaman and W. J. Holmes, who were also the original owners. They remained the owners until the mid-1920s when the Shea Brewery Company took over and maintained their ownership into the 1950s. 

The hotel was built with 52 rooms, two parlours and a restaurant with an outside dining room overlooking the Red River. A billiard room on the main floor contained five pool and billiard tables. Balconies were built on the second and third floors, allowing guests a view of the river.  A boathouse was also constructed that could hold 25 rowboats and canoes. In 1914, building regulations were much less strict than they are today, which allowed the hotel to be built right on the riverbank — something that would not be allowed today. This has caused the hotel to be threatened by flood waters on many occasions but it has fortunately avoided serious damage.

Room rates in 1914 were $1.25 per day for single occupancy and $2 per day for double occupancy. A liquor license was obtained in 1914 despite the opposition of many local residents and the temperance movement. Prohibition came to Manitoba in 1916 and lasted until 1923, which shut down all liquor trade in the hotel.

During the worst of the Spanish influenza pandemic of October and November 1918 the hotel served as a satellite hospital for local residents in dire need of medical attention with no family members to help look after them.

The LaSalle has often been the first location in which many young people from Elmwood and elsewhere have enjoyed their first legal drinks.

In recent years the hotel has been renovated and updated.

Jim Smith is a community correspondent for Elmwood, East Kildonan and North Kildonan. Email him at jimsmith@mts.net 

Jim Smith

Jim Smith is a community correspondent for Elmwood, East Kildonan and North Kildonan. Email him at jimsmith@mts.net

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