Grand railway hotels of Canada

The use of towers and turrets, and other Scottish baronial and French château architectural elements, became a signature style of Canada's majestic hotels.

Two weeks later, the Canadian Pacific Railway officially opened the Banff Springs Hotel on June 1, 1888.

The president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, William Cornelius Van Horne, had personally chosen the site in the Rocky Mountains for the new hotel.

Van Horne famously remarked: "If we can't export the scenery, we'll import the tourists.

"[1][page needed] The original Banff Springs Hotel, of wooden construction, was destroyed by fire in 1926 and replaced by the present structure.

Its elevated location overlooking the city also made it a readily identifiable landmark as viewed from passing trains as well as ships plying the waters of the Saint Lawrence River en route to or from Montreal.

Place Viger followed in Montreal, followed by The Empress in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Château Lake Louise in Alberta.

The main competitor to Canadian Pacific, the Grand Trunk Railway, was not prepared to leave the field solely to its rival.