A three-storey brick building at the intersection of Princess Avenue and Eighth Street in Brandon dated from 1893 when it replaced an earlier structure built in 1882 as one of the city’s first boarding houses. Named for its first proprietor Thomas Jefferous Beaubier, the hotel offered 37 rooms for weary travellers. In the early 20th century, it hosted a fine-dining establishment and opened a men-only beer parlour in the 1920s. In 1958, it was renovated with modernized rooms and a new licensed restaurant and beverage room. By the early 2000s, the Beaubier still rented rooms to the city’s less affluent residents but it was most well known (or notorious) for its beverage room, Thirsty’s. The Beaubier closed and was demolished in August 2008.
An owner of the Beaubier Hotel was Percy Douglas Hills.
Beaubier Hotel (no date) by Davidson Brothers
Source: Magnacca Research Centre, Daly House Museum, 77.1.136
Beaubier Hotel (no date)
Source: John Everitt Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University, JCE-2296
Postcard view of the Beaubier Hotel (no date)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2023-0063
Beaubier Hotel (April 2002)
Source: John Everitt Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University, JCE-1174Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.84667, W99.94833
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Jefferous Beaubier (1830-1915)
Called to the Bar: An Historical Geography of Beverage Rooms in Brandon, 1881-1966 by Doug Ramsey and John Everitt
Manitoba History, Number 56, October 2007
“Beaubier: end of the line,” Brandon Sun, 15 August 2008, page 1.
“Renovated Beaubier Hotel has grand opening,” Brandon Sun, 9 September 2008, page 7.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 20 May 2023
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