Jasper Park Lodge

Last updated
Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge
Jasper Park Lodge.jpg
Jasper Park Lodge, Alberta, Canada
Jasper Park Lodge
Alternative namesJasper Park Lodge
General information
Architectural style Rustic architecture
Location Jasper, Alberta, Canada
Coordinates 52°53′10″N118°03′25″W / 52.88611°N 118.05694°W / 52.88611; -118.05694
OpenedJune 1922
Owner Oxford Properties [1]
Management Fairmont Hotels and Resorts / Accor
Other information
Number of rooms442
Number of restaurants5
Website
fairmont.com/jasper

The Jasper Park Lodge is a 442-room hotel situated on 700 acre site along Lac Beauvert in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. The hotel was established in 1921 by Canadian National Railway and is one of Canada's grand railway hotels.

Contents

Hotel history

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

In the early 1900s the Government of Canada envisioned a new northern transcontinental railway to compliment the Canada's first transcontinental railway which ran closer to the Canada–US border. The Grand Trunk Railway under the subsidiary Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was contracted to construct and operate the Western Canadian portion of the new line after legislation was passed by Parliament in 1903. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway followed the original Sandford Fleming "Canadian Pacific Survey" route from Jasper, Alberta through the Yellowhead Pass, which reached the Alberta/British Columbia border in November 1911. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway's lines largely through the Yellowhead Pass were largely duplicated by Canadian Northern Railway shortly after construction. In March 1911, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway president Charles Melville Hays wrote Minister of the Interior Frank Oliver seeking land and the exclusive privilege to build and operate hotels in the Jasper Forest Park. [2] Hays was eager to emulate the success of the Canadian Pacific Railway's grand hotels in Banff, Lake Louise, and Rogers Pass. [2] Hays sought to build the Chateau Miette hotel near the Miette Hot Springs, and gain an exclusive lease for a rail line to the springs. [3] The proposed location was identified later in 1911 by Arthur Oliver Wheeler whom the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway commissioned to map the Jasper Park and Mount Robson region to identify sites for hotels, chalets, and trails. [3] The Government of Canada was not interested in providing an exclusive rights, and instead sought to offer land through a lease system. [2]

The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and local government officials were prepared to come to an agreement in 1912, with a design completed by the company, a proposed lease for 42 years, and suggested rent of $500 per year. [4] However, the agreement was delayed by questions concerning school lands, and which department had jurisdiction over the waterways in the park. [4] While the delay continued, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway developed plans for two additional hotels, one near the Jasper townsite on Snape's Hill with an attached golf course allegedly designed with the assistance of Arthur Conan Doyle, [4] and a second hotel on the south shore of Pyramid Lake. [5] These plans came to a halt in 1914 when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway ran low on funds and was nationalized in 1919 to form the Canadian National Railway. [5] The failure of the railway came when the Government of Canada was finally prepared to approve the Miette lease, and later in February 1915, the Canadian government desperate for any form of accommodation in the area, asked the railways to construct cheap log cabins on the three sites. [5]

Tent City, 1915

Press excursion at Tent City July 1915 Press excursion at Jasper Park, people gathered for the photo, tents in background, Tent City, Lake Beauvert, Jasper Park a011271.jpg
Press excursion at Tent City July 1915

Jasper in the early 1900s had a few hotels established during the construction of the railway, with eight listed as established in 1911. [2] The earlies form of tourist accommodation along Lac Beauvert came in 1915 when Robert Kenneth of Edmonton, along with the pioneer outfitters Fred and Jack Brewster established "Tent City". [6] Tent City was established with ten large sleeping tents with wooden walls and floors, and a cooking tent constructed along the lake front. [7] [6] Accommodation at Tent City was set at $2.50 or $3.00 per day, and a weekly rate of $15 or $18 was available and over 260 visitors stayed at the accommodation over the summer. [8] The camp which officially opened on July 15, 1915, with regular attendees and a group from The Canadian Press, [6] was successful in the summer of 1915, but failed to reopen after the end of the 1915 season due to the First World War. [7] [8]

On June 5, 1919, Jack and Fred Brewster returned from the war and purchased Tent City from Robert Kenneth and reopened the site. [9] The 1919 season proved to be a success and the Brewsters expanded the camp in 1920 with a log kitchen, dining room, and dance pavilion. [9]

Early years, 1921-1930

Interior of the Central Lodge in 1923 Interior of Jasper Park Lodge main lodge (19592492658).jpg
Interior of the Central Lodge in 1923
Interior of the Lodge Lounge around 1930 Lounge rotunda, Jasper National Park, Alta.jpg
Interior of the Lodge Lounge around 1930

In 1921, the newly nationalized Canadian National Railways purchased "Tent City" and began plans for a hotel on the site, with the first bungalow opening in June 1922 under the name "Jasper Park Lodge". [7] [10]

The Canadian National Railway's chief architect John Schofield envisioned a hotel that altered the Athabasca Valley's view as little as possible, and blended seamlessly into the natural surroundings. [7] [11] Schofield planned for a number of small cabins made of rustic logs and fieldstone sprawling across the landscape, rather than the traditional large resort hotel. [12] [11]

Henry Worth Thornton the new president of Canadian National Railways visited Jasper in January 1923, and viewed the development favorably as he sought to expand tourist developments along the rail line. [10] During the winter of 1922–23, construction began on the new $461,000 Central Lodge and a number of new outlying bungalows designed by English architect Godfrey Milnes. [12] [13] The design of the Central Lodge used peeled logs on a fieldstone foundation, included lounges, dining room, snack room, kitchen, administrative offices, a large stone fireplace mounted animal heads, and was touted as the largest single-story log building in the world. [12] [14] The Central Lodge was built using logs from the construction site and others cut from the nearby Maligne Canyon, with planed lumber hardwood floors brought from out of the area by train, and red cedar from British Columbia for upright pillars. [15] By 1925, Jasper Park Lodge consisted of over 50 log structures, and by 1927 there was accommodation for 425 guests. [12] [16]

In 1927 and 1928, the central lodge was expanded more than doubling the size of the building, and more cabins were built around Lac Beauvert. [17] [14] Additional new cabins were built between 1928 and 1931, including the luxury cabins Point, Outlook and Viewpoint, and other small cabins lifting the hotel's capacity to 550 guests. [17] [18] King George VI and his wife Elizabeth visited Jasper during the 1939 royal tour of Canada, staying in the Outlook Cabin. [19] [20]

1940s and the Second World War

A view of Jasper Park Lodge from the lake taken in 1947. Jasper Park Lodge 1947.jpg
A view of Jasper Park Lodge from the lake taken in 1947.

Tourism in Jasper National Park grew significantly in 1940 as the Icefields Parkway connecting the park to Banff was completed. [21] In 1939, 3,100 automobiles and 21,000 people were recorded entering Jasper National Park, which jumped to 19,000 automobiles and 83,000 people in 1940. [21] The growth in tourism was short lived as Canada entered the Second World War, and Jasper Park Lodge closed to the public in fall of 1942 until spring of 1946 to contribute to the war effort. [21] In the winter of 1943–44, Jasper Park Lodge was used as a winter training base for the Scottish Lovat Scouts special mountain troops. [22] [19]

Many of the original log bungalows were replaced in the late-1940s through to the 1960s in a modernization program. [22]

1950s and 1952 fire

On July 15, 1952, a fire broke out at the Central Lodge, destroying the entire building. One employee who marshalled guests out of the building died as a result of burns. [23] [24] The fire believed to be started due to defective wiring, [25] was discovered around 9 p.m. by an employee in the cloakroom, and attempts by the staff to contain the blaze with a fire extinguisher were not successful as the fire spread into the main part of the building. [26] The guests evacuated the lodge, while the on-site band continued to play Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to calm the evacuating guests, and then left shortly afterwards. [26] The town fire department was delayed as the telephone lines from the lodge were burnt before a call for assistance could be made, and the fire was reported from a forest fire lookout who initially believed the blaze was a controlled brush burn. [26] Staff members, guests, RCMP, Jasper volunteer fire fighters, Canadian army personnel and pipeline workers assembled to fight the fire and prevent the spread to other cabins in the park. [27] After the fire 26 guests chose to leave Jasper Park Lodge, and the remaining guests stayed while operations at the hotel returned. [28]

At the time of the fire, Jasper Park Lodge had a rough plan for a new Central Lodge underway, and construction of the new design began within weeks of the fire. [25] The new $3-million, 7,000-square-metre design included fire-proof steel, concrete, fieldstone and a cedar roof, with a four wing design that blended with the original bungalows and natural environment. [29] The new concrete foundation was poured in late-September, and the steel-frame structure and roof were completed before winter weather came to Jasper. [29] The new Central Lodge was completed on June 9, 1953. [30]

Later history

Jasper Park Lodge was sold to Canadian Pacific Hotels in 1988 with a commitment to become a year-round resort destination. [31] A five-year restoration and development was completed in 1994 to the 442 guest rooms and public amenities. [31] Canadian Pacific Hotels was reorganized in 2001 and formed into Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. In 2006, the Jasper Park Lodge was purchased by Oxford Properties, the real estate investment arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), but it is operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. [32]

A $6.7 million Fairmont spa was added to the Lodge in fall 2010. In 2015–16, a $16 million renovation to all rooms (Fairmont, Deluxe, Junior Suites and Lakefront Suites) was completed to modernize the decor. [33] ORSO Trattoria, the hotel's first Italian restaurant, was also added to the dining options, which includes The Nook Chophouse, Emerald Lounge & Patio, Thompson's Terrace and (of course) Oka Sushi.

In 2015, the French hospitality company Accor paid $2.9 billion to acquire FRHI Hotels & Resorts including several historic Canadian hotels including Jasper Park Lodge, Hotel Macdonald, Banff Springs Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise, Le Chateau Frontenac, Chateau Laurier, Royal York and Montreal's Queen Elizabeth hotel. [34]

Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club history

The wide-open valley along Lac Beauvert made the prospect of a golf course in the area feasible, and in 1922 the Dominion Parks Branch decided to build a golf course for use by visitors and Jasper residents. [35] A simple nine-hole course was designed by Charlie Duncan, a golf professional from Banff, and work began on clearing boulders and bush. [35] After slow construction in 1922 and 1923, the Canadian National Railway approached the Canadian government with an offer to take over the construction of the golf course. The Canadian National Railway commissioned Canadian golf course architect Stanley Thompson to design the 18-hole course. [35] [36] The 35-hectare (86-acre) site was cleared in the summer of 1923 by a team of 250 men, which found the topsoil insufficient for growing thick grass necessary for the course. [37] [38] The Canadian National Railway bought a quarter-section of farm land near Edmonton, stripped the topsoil and loaded it into trains to Jasper at great expense to complete the golf course. [37] [39] A 190,000-litre concrete dam was built along the mountainside to hold water for the course. [39] The Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club opened on July 17, 1925, with Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, the commander in chief of British Forces in the First World War, hitting the first ball. [37] [38] The course was renovated in 1928–29 in preparation for the Canadian Amateur Championship. [40] In 1930, a clubhouse was constructed for the course, as well as a 23-bedroom building for golfers. [18] [40] The Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club held an annual "Totem Pole Tournament" from the 1920s to the 1950s, which was won by actor Bing Crosby in 1947. [41] [42]

The original design had the ninth hole situated far from the clubhouse, so three additional holes were constructed in 1950 to allow golfers to play nine holes and finish at the clubhouse. [38] A new clubhouse was constructed in 1968 with a pro shop included. [43]

The Jasper Park Lodge has been featured and used in various films, TV shows and other forms of media. The first feature film at the lodge was the 1926 Fox Film Corporation The Country Beyond , three years later Fox returned with Under Suspicion , and director W. S. Van Dyke's Rose Marie in 1936. [44] The Jasper Park Lodge hosted the filming for the Bing Crosby film The Emperor Waltz in 1946, with the location becoming a favorite of Crosby, returning multiple times over the years to compete in the Jasper Park Lodge's annual golf tournament. [45]

In the 1950s the Jasper Park Lodge hosted Marilyn Monroe's River of No Return , and James Stewart's The Far Country . Monroe was evicted from the Jasper Park Lodge during the film shoot for repeatedly dressing inappropriately for dinner. [46]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasper National Park</span> National park in Alberta, Canada

Jasper National Park, in Alberta, Canada, is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains, spanning 11,000 km2 (4,200 sq mi). It was established as Jasper Forest Park in 1907, renamed as a national park in 1930, and declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984. Its location is north of Banff National Park and west of Edmonton. The park contains the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, springs, lakes, waterfalls and mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasper, Alberta</span> Specialized municipality in Alberta, Canada

Jasper is a specialized municipality and townsite in western Alberta within the Canadian Rockies. The townsite is in the Athabasca River valley and is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific Hotels</span>

Canadian Pacific Hotels (CPH) was a division of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that primarily operated hotels across Canada, since passenger revenue made a significant contribution to early railway profitability. CPR restructured the division as a subsidiary in 1963. In 1988, CPR purchased the Canadian National Hotels chain, making Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts the nation's largest hotel owner. In 1998, all CPH properties were branded as either Fairmont or Delta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Château Laurier</span> Building in Ottawa, Ontario

The Fairmont Château Laurier is a 660,000-square-foot (61,000 m2) hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to complement the adjacent Parliament buildings. The hotel is above the Colonel By Valley, home of the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal, and overlooks the Ottawa River. The main dining room overlooks Major's Hill Park. The reception rooms include the Wedgewood-blue Adam Room; the Laurier Room defined by Roman columns; the Empire-style ballroom and the Drawing Room featuring cream and gold plaster ornament. The hotel was designated a national historic site in 1980.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a global chain of luxury hotels that operates more than 70 properties worldwide, with a strong presence in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banff Springs Hotel</span> Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada

The Fairmont Banff Springs, formerly and commonly known as the Banff Springs Hotel, is a historic hotel located in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The entire town including the hotel, is situated in Banff National Park, a national park managed by Parks Canada. The hotel overlooks a valley towards Mount Rundle, both of which are situated within the Rocky Mountain mountain range. The hotel is located at an altitude of 1,414 metres (4,639 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel Macdonald</span> Building in Alberta, Canada

The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, formerly and commonly known as the Hotel Macdonald, is a large historic luxury hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located along 100 Street NW, south of Jasper Avenue, the hotel is situated in the eastern end of downtown Edmonton, and overlooks the North Saskatchewan River. The 47.7-metre-high (156 ft) hotel building was designed by Ross and MacFarlene and contains eleven floors. The hotel is named for the first prime minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairmont Palliser Hotel</span> Building in Alberta, Canada

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banff Sunshine</span> Ski resort in Alberta, Canada

Banff Sunshine Village is a ski resort in western Canada, located on the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies within Banff National Park in Alberta and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. It is one of three major ski resorts located in the Banff National Park. Because of its location straddling the Continental Divide, Sunshine receives more snow than the neighbouring ski resorts. The Sunshine base area is located 15 km (9 mi) southwest of the town of Banff. By car, it is about a ninety-minute drive from the city of Calgary; the Sunshine exit on the Trans Canada Highway is 8 km (5 mi) west of the town of Banff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Château Montebello</span> Building in Canada, JOV

The Fairmont Le Château Montebello, formerly and commonly known as the Château Montebello, is a historic hotel and resort complex in Montebello, Quebec, Canada. The resort complex includes a large game reserve and a large wooden structure. The wooden hotel structure was developed by Victor Nymark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand railway hotels of Canada</span> Railway hotels built across Canada

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.

Stanley Thompson was a Canadian golf course architect, and a high-standard amateur golfer. He was a co-founder of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Park Service rustic</span> Style of architecture developed in 20th century for the United States National Park Service

National Park Service rustic – sometimes colloquially called Parkitecture – is a style of architecture that developed in the early and middle 20th century in the United States National Park Service (NPS) through its efforts to create buildings that harmonized with the natural environment. Since its founding in 1916, the NPS sought to design and build visitor facilities without visually interrupting the natural or historic surroundings. The early results were characterized by intensive use of hand labor and a rejection of the regularity and symmetry of the industrial world, reflecting connections with the Arts and Crafts movement and American Picturesque architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lac Beauvert</span>

Lac Beauvert, or Beauvert Lake is a small lake (0.4 km2) in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Canadian National Hotels was a hotel chain under control by Canadian National Railways. In addition to their own hotels, it acquired some from predecessor railway companies like the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Grand Trunk Railway and Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway. Some of their assets were later acquired by rival Canadian Pacific Hotels after 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minaki Lodge</span>

Minaki Lodge, formerly part of the chain of Canadian National Hotels, was originally built in 1914 by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR). Located on the route of the National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) at Minaki, Ontario, between Sioux Lookout and Winnipeg, where the railway crosses the Winnipeg River, the rustic resort hotel named Minaki Lodge and the railway station, also called Minaki, is an Ojibwa word that has been variously translated as "beautiful water" or "good land."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Canyon Lodge</span> United States historic place

Bryce Canyon Lodge is a lodging facility in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States, built between 1924 and 1925 using local materials. Designed by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, the lodge is an excellent example of National Park Service rustic design, and the only remaining completely original structure that Underwood designed for Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Canyon Lodge</span> NRPH building in Coconino County, Arizona

The Grand Canyon Lodge is a hotel and cabins complex at Bright Angel Point on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who designed a number of other hotels in national parks for the Utah Parks Company and other concessioners. Built in 1927–28, the Grand Canyon Lodge resort complex consists of the Main Lodge building, 23 deluxe cabins, and 91 standard cabins, some of which were moved to the north rim campground in 1940. All guests are housed in cabins detached from the main lodge, which serves as a dining, concessions and service facility. Constructed of native Kaibab limestone and timber, the complex was designed to harmonize with its rocky and forested setting. The Grand Canyon Lodge complex is notable for its setting and rustic design, as well as its status as the only complete surviving lodge and cabin complex in the national parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bright Angel Lodge</span> United States historic place

Bright Angel Lodge is a hotel complex at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Designed by architect Mary Jane Colter, the lodge is a complex of cabins around a central lodge building, directly on the edge of the canyon. The rustic lodge complex is a major contributing building in the Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District. In 2022, Bright Angel Lodge is also a member of Historic Hotels of America, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

References

  1. ↑ "Fairmont luxury hotel portfolio". Oxford Properties. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Smith 1995, p. 1.
  3. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 2.
  4. 1 2 3 Smith 1995, p. 3.
  5. 1 2 3 Smith 1995, p. 5.
  6. 1 2 3 Smith 1995, p. 7.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Chisholm & Sandford 2001, p. 53.
  8. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 9.
  9. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 10.
  10. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 11.
  11. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 14.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Chisholm & Sandford 2001, p. 54.
  13. ↑ Smith 1995, pp. 14–16.
  14. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 16.
  15. ↑ Smith 1995, p. 15.
  16. ↑ Smith 1995, p. 19.
  17. 1 2 Chisholm & Sandford 2001, p. 57.
  18. 1 2 Smith 1995, pp. 19–21.
  19. 1 2 Chisholm & Sandford 2001, p. 58.
  20. ↑ Smith 1995, pp. 34–36.
  21. 1 2 3 Smith 1995, p. 25.
  22. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 26.
  23. ↑ Smith 1995, pp. 28–29.
  24. ↑ Chisholm & Sandford 2001, p. 59.
  25. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 31.
  26. 1 2 3 Smith 1995, p. 28.
  27. ↑ Smith 1995, p. 29.
  28. ↑ Smith 1995, p. 30.
  29. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 32.
  30. ↑ Smith 1995, pp. 32–33.
  31. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 78.
  32. ↑ "Oxford Properties buys 7 Canadian hotels from Fairmont Raffles". CBC News . October 4, 2006.
  33. ↑ "Jasper Park Lodge to get $16M facelift". CBC News . November 13, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Fairmont's Hotel Macdonald and Jasper Park Lodge sold as part of $2.9B deal". Edmonton Journal . The Canadian Press. December 15, 2015.
  35. 1 2 3 Smith 1995, p. 41.
  36. ↑ Chisholm & Sandford 2001, pp. 54–56.
  37. 1 2 3 Chisholm & Sandford 2001, p. 56.
  38. 1 2 3 Smith 1995, p. 43.
  39. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 42.
  40. 1 2 Smith 1995, p. 45.
  41. ↑ Smith 1995, p. 44.
  42. ↑ Smith 1995, p. 47.
  43. ↑ Smith 1995, p. 48.
  44. ↑ Smith 1995, pp. 36–37.
  45. ↑ Smith 1995, pp. 37–39.
  46. ↑ Buhasz, Laszlo (August 19, 2000). "A class act in a rugged land". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 1 December 2021.
Works cited
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.