HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > Canada


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #61  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2018, 1:49 PM
esquire's Avatar
esquire esquire is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 37,483
^ Good news, Rico was referring to it in the past tense which made me assume it was gone. It's a beauty, nice to hear it's being renovated.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #62  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2018, 5:48 PM
Martin Mtl's Avatar
Martin Mtl Martin Mtl is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 8,941
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack View Post
It never came down, thankfully. It seems to have about as many lives as a cat.

But it's sat abandoned for many years. Though there are finally concrete plans to do something with it. (Work may even have started - I haven't been in that part of Montreal for a while.)
It's fully restored and occupied by high tech companies, anchored by Montreal’s technology darling, Lightspeed.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #63  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2018, 4:33 PM
whatnext whatnext is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 22,112
Can't forget the last grand hotel built for Canadian pacific, the Chateau Whistler.

[IMG]Fairmont-Chateau-Whistler courtesy cooperativeski.co.uk by whatnextyvr, on Flickr[/IMG]
Image credit: co-operativeski.co.uk
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #64  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2018, 7:43 PM
Rico Rommheim's Avatar
Rico Rommheim Rico Rommheim is online now
Look at me!
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: City of Bagels
Posts: 13,576
Quote:
Originally Posted by whatnext View Post
Can't forget the last grand hotel built for Canadian pacific, the Chateau Whistler.

[IMG]Fairmont-Chateau-Whistler courtesy cooperativeski.co.uk by whatnextyvr, on Flickr[/IMG]
Image credit: co-operativeski.co.uk
Never knew this one existed. When was it built?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #65  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2018, 8:25 PM
Rico Rommheim's Avatar
Rico Rommheim Rico Rommheim is online now
Look at me!
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: City of Bagels
Posts: 13,576
I`ve always found it strange that while the railway companies, all of which were Headquartered in Montreal, were building palatial hotels across the country, they seemed to have forgotten about building one here. In fact it wasn`t until 1958 that Montreal would get it`s first railway hotel to match the scale of the Royal York, the Laurier or the Vancouver.

The Queen Elizabeth Hotel was the last true railway hotel built. Built by CN right on top of it`s central station, the Queen E was by far the most modern hotel built in Canada at that point. With 1200 rooms and suites, AC, huge convention floors and a direct access to the train station underground, the Queen E`s sober exterior hides a very elegant and fine-tuned tourism and high-society machine within.

It has been renovated 2 years ago and is now once again worthy of it`s 5 star designation. The guest list at this place is crazy, and is today the home away from home of the PM and his staff, any given Quebec Premier, and a nauseatingly long list of heads of states and celebrities.


https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1O-L...ehotel.0.0.jpg


https://cdn-image.travelandleisure.c...?itok=ORXAD3ZV


https://ingeniumcanada.org/sites/def...?itok=M5qn5wWZ

Under construction the late 50`s







Last edited by Rico Rommheim; Oct 7, 2018 at 8:49 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #66  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2018, 8:29 PM
Echoes's Avatar
Echoes Echoes is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Saskatoon, SK
Posts: 4,236
I love the Queen Elizabeth.
__________________
SASKATOON PHOTO TOURS
2013: [Part I] [Part II] | [2014] | [2016] | [2022-23]
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #67  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2018, 9:54 PM
acottawa acottawa is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 15,660
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim View Post
I`ve always found it strange that while the railway companies, all of which were Headquartered in Montreal, were building palatial hotels across the country, they seemed to have forgotten about building one here. In fact it wasn`t until 1958 that Montreal would get it`s first railway hotel to match the scale of the Royal York, the Laurier or the Vancouver.

]
CP built Place Viger in the 1890s.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_Viger
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #68  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2018, 10:16 PM
whatnext whatnext is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 22,112
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim View Post
Never knew this one existed. When was it built?
Chateau Whistler was built in 1989.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #69  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2018, 11:49 PM
Rico Rommheim's Avatar
Rico Rommheim Rico Rommheim is online now
Look at me!
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: City of Bagels
Posts: 13,576
Quote:
Originally Posted by acottawa View Post
CP built Place Viger in the 1890s.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_Viger
Dude, I wrote about the Viger just a few post back...
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #70  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2018, 1:30 AM
acottawa acottawa is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 15,660
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim View Post
Dude, I wrote about the Viger just a few post back...
Ok, I didn't notice the post.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #71  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2018, 3:41 PM
J.OT13's Avatar
J.OT13 J.OT13 is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 23,845
Quote:
Originally Posted by acottawa View Post
CP built Place Viger in the 1890s.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_Viger
Viger was small potatoes compared to the massive, grand hotels in other cities. I think Rico was just pointing to Queen E. as the first large scale luxury railway hotel in Montreal.

It truly marked the start of a transformationnel era for Montreal with the re-positioning of the downtown financial district.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #72  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2018, 3:51 PM
ghYHZ ghYHZ is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Antigonish NS
Posts: 496
L'Hotel was a CN Hotel at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. When CP took over the CN properties.....it became a Crowne Plaza and now the Intercontinental.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #73  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2018, 5:39 PM
Rico Rommheim's Avatar
Rico Rommheim Rico Rommheim is online now
Look at me!
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: City of Bagels
Posts: 13,576
What could have been. The Windsor hotel's third expansion before the financial crash put an end to it. It would have brought the hotel to over 1000 rooms and suites and an approximate height of 120 with the spire. Good enough for Montreal's third tallest at the time.

Reply With Quote
     
     
  #74  
Old Posted Oct 17, 2018, 10:47 PM
Rico Rommheim's Avatar
Rico Rommheim Rico Rommheim is online now
Look at me!
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: City of Bagels
Posts: 13,576
Though not commonly considered a "railway hotel", Canadian pacific`s Chateau Champlain was the last railway hotel built in Montreal, and the only railway hotel built and operated by CP since the closure of Viger in 1935.

It was finished in 1967 in time for Expo, across the street from CP`s HQ and Windsor Station. It was the first highrise by a local francophone architect, Roger d`Astous, a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Affectionaly called the "cheesegrater", the CC was then Canada`s tallest hotel at 139m and 40 floors. It was the 4th tallest building in Montreal upon its completion and the 6th tallest in Canada.

CP sold the hotel to Marriott in 1995.












https://www.google.ca/search?safe=st...a2Pz5Rc-KWPmM:

Last edited by Rico Rommheim; Oct 17, 2018 at 10:57 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #75  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2018, 1:20 AM
J.OT13's Avatar
J.OT13 J.OT13 is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 23,845
Cool to see the metro construction site right next to it in the 4th photograph.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #76  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2018, 1:04 PM
esquire's Avatar
esquire esquire is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 37,483
^ I love the Chateau Champlain, it's a great example of the bold design that Montreal became known for in the 60s and 70s.

I only ever stayed there once, but I definitely enjoyed geeking out over the hotel's architecture up close.

In the later years, CP did get involved in some less conventional railway hotels. They had a chain of motels in western cities called Red Oak Inns... I believe one survives in Brandon, MB to this day under a different name.

Also, they were involved in the development and operation of the Northstar Inn in Winnipeg (now the Radisson). CP was involved in a similar highrise project with the Chateau Lacombe in Edmonton.

Former Northstar Inn, Winnipeg


Chateau Lacombe, Edmonton
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #77  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2018, 6:34 PM
someone123's Avatar
someone123 someone123 is offline
hähnchenbrüstfiletstüc
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 33,677
Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire View Post
^ I love the Chateau Champlain, it's a great example of the bold design that Montreal became known for in the 60s and 70s.
It seems like one of those buildings with a forward-thinking design that moved "downmarket" and therefore didn't age gracefully. Those are apparently precast concrete panels, which would have been novel as a cladding material back in the 1960's. Today the novelty's worn off, and exposed precast is used on cheaper highrises. This building always looked like a bit of a cheapo Lego building to me. I don't feel the same way about, say, the CIBC tower.

It's the same with some early modern buildings from 1910 or so that were built with exposed concrete (cast in place with forms). 100 years later people most people consider them less attractive than wedding cake type masonry work that, at the time, was much more conventional, and today is less interesting in terms of the history of architecture.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #78  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2018, 6:37 PM
Marty_Mcfly's Avatar
Marty_Mcfly Marty_Mcfly is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: St. John's, NL
Posts: 7,169


An old picture, circa 1982, showing the new hotel standing next to the old hotel, shortly before demolition.

No question which of the two looks better.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #79  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2018, 6:59 PM
MonctonRad's Avatar
MonctonRad MonctonRad is offline
Wildcats Rule!!
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Moncton NB
Posts: 34,453


That's an amazing comparison shot. I had no idea that there had been a previous hotel right next to the Hotel Newfoundland. I was in St. John's in the fall of 1983. I just missed it......

It's a shame it's gone.......
__________________
Go 'Cats Go
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #80  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2018, 7:01 PM
esquire's Avatar
esquire esquire is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 37,483
Quote:
Originally Posted by someone123 View Post
It seems like one of those buildings with a forward-thinking design that moved "downmarket" and therefore didn't age gracefully. Those are apparently precast concrete panels, which would have been novel as a cladding material back in the 1960's. Today the novelty's worn off, and exposed precast is used on cheaper highrises. This building always looked like a bit of a cheapo Lego building to me. I don't feel the same way about, say, the CIBC tower.
No question that the Chateau is not in the same league as CIBC which is one of the best towers in Canada. But I think it's far from being a cheapo Lego building.

There's no question that it's a product of its time, but at the same time it has aged fairly well. The panels don't look tired or worn out, and certainly the hotel still caters to the same high-ish end business clientele that it always did. The design looks original and fresh, as it did in the 1960s.

To my mind a cheapo building is one where design is a total afterthought. Something like this, an income stream on a spreadsheet with some green cladding on top.

Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > Canada
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 9:48 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.