Article content material
All of it started in 1890 with a small log cabin on the unforgettable waters of Lake Louise. That is the place Cornelius Van Horne — the top honcho of Canadian Pacific Railway — constructed a cabin he referred to as “Chalet Lake Louise,” which attracted about 50 guests that 12 months.
Article content material
As phrase of the realm’s magnificence unfold, customer numbers elevated. Development on a brand new resort referred to as Chateau Lake Louise started in 1898; additions adopted in 1903-04, 1908-09 and 1914. Nonetheless, catastrophe struck the resort when a hearth tore by means of the property in 1924.
Article content material
Canadian Pacific Railway promised to rebuild the resort rapidly and work continued all through 1924, even in winter months. To battle the weather, a whole wood shell was constructed across the construction of the resort to supply safety for staff and permit building to proceed within the mountains within the winter. Steam boilers had been used to warmth the air contained in the shell in order that concrete might be poured, brick might be laid and gravel might be thawed. As much as 350 males at a time labored on the positioning.
By the spring of 1925, it was introduced that the rebuilt resort would open on June 1st.
Gents and girls attended the reopening. Guests from as distant as Australia, New Zealand and Europe – in addition to from throughout Canada – had been among the many first friends to register on the rebuilt Chateau Lake Louise. Lighting was dim; furnishings had been tastefully opulent; and a band was booked to play for the resort’s first ball.
The resort – now a part of the Fairmont resort group and thus referred to as the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise – has attracted many celebrities through the years, together with Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, Alfred Hitchcock and Christopher Reeve.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
