| The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel | |
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| National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Province | Alberta |
| Municipality | Banff National Park |
| Origin of name | nearby thermal springs |
| Founder | William Cornelius Van Horne |
| Architect | Bruce Price (original hotel), Walter S. Painter, (present hotel core) |
| Established | 1887 |
| Year built | 1888 (original hotel), 1928 (present hotel core) |
| Architectural style | Scottish Baronial |
| Website | Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel |
The Fairmont Banff Springs or simply the Banff Springs Hotel is a former railway hotel constructed in Scottish Baronial style located in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The original hotel, designed by American architect Bruce Price,[1] was built between spring of 1887 and 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, at the instigation of its President, William Cornelius Van Horne. The hotel was publicly opened on June 1, 1888.[2] Starting in 1911, a wholly new hotel was built in stages to replace the 1888 structure. The new hotel was designed by another American architect, Walter S. Painter. Compared with Price's Shingle style-influenced wooden structure, Painter's new hotel was built of concrete and faced with stone.[3]
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Price's hotel was quite different from the present Banff Springs Hotel. Variously termed a "Tudor hall" or a "Swiss chalet", the hotel was clad in shingles with stone accents, and featured a profusion of dormers, turrets, and rooflines. The 1888 hotel cost $250,000. However, a mistake by the builder changed the hotel's orientation so that it turned its back on the mountain view. This hotel included more than 100 bedrooms, centered on a five story, octagonal rotunda. An addition in 1902 expanded and renovated the hotel, adding more than 200 rooms. Further additions followed.[3]
By 1906, plans were advanced for a complete overhaul of the Banff Springs, replacing much of the original structure. Walter Painter, chief architect for the Canadian Pacific, designed an eleven-storey central tower in concrete and stone, flanked by two wings. The so-called "Painter Tower", this time correctly oriented to the view, was completed in 1914 at a cost of $2 million with 300 guest rooms, was for a time the tallest building in Canada. Construction of the new wings was delayed by World War I, and the surviving Price wings continued in service. Two new wings, this time designed by architect J.W. Orrock, opened in 1928. Orrock, using the style originated by Painter, greatly expanded the Painter Tower, altering its roofline, and adding his own massive additions. In 1926, while work was proceeding on the new wings, a fire destroyed the remainder of the original Price hotel.[3]
The hotel is presently owned and operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. The hotel is within a spectacular setting in the Rocky Mountains, just above the Bow Falls, close to thermal springs. It is within walking distance of the resort community of Banff. The main view from the hotel is across the valley and towards Mount Rundle, frequently cited in geology books for its exposed and tilted ancient seabeds.
In 1968, the hotel was winterised and has been open year-round.[4]
Halfway up the internal staircase closest to the Bow Falls may be found a noted painting of William Davidson felling trees on the Miramichi River in colonial times. Davidson was the first European settler in that area, and grew up in Moray, close to Banff, Scotland. The painting is by the war artist Cyrus Cunoe ( 1879-1916), who executed a series of paintings for the Canadian Pacific Railway.
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