Link to:
Photos & Coordinates | Sources
Brandon’s grandest hotel was designed by the Winnipeg-based architectural firm of Pratt and Ross, and built between 1911 and 1912 at the southwest corner of Princess Avenue and Ninth Street by contractors Thomas Kelly and Sons of Winnipeg. Opened in June 1912, it stood beside the main depot of the Canadian Northern Railway along Ninth Street.
The six-storey building, a reinforced-concrete structure clad in limestone and bricks, measured 120 feet by 100 feet. Its basement contained a billiard room, barber shop, public bath, lavatories, storeroom, laundry, and machinery room. On the ground floor was a rotunda, bar, offices, check room, telephone and telegraph offices, news stand, dining room, kitchen, pantries, bake shop, drawing room, and writing room. Upstairs were 108 rooms, 48 of which featured private or connecting bathrooms. On the top floor were servants’ quarters and ten sample rooms. There were two passenger elevators and one freight elevator.
In January 1955, the railway sold four of its hotels, including this one, to a group headed by a businessman at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Two years later, the Prince Edward was sold to A-T Hotels Limited of Winnipeg.
The hotel closed on 29 January 1975, doomed by aging infrastructure, dated interiors, and changing preferences of the travelling public. Ownership of the building transferred to the City of Brandon in May 1977. A local citizens’ group tried unsuccessfully to have the city council designate the building as an historic site and to convert it into an arts centre.
The building was demolished on 24 February 1980. Its site is now a public park.
Prince Edward Hotel under construction (1911)
Source: John Everitt Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University, JCE-2311
Prince Edward Hotel (no date) by Joe Fartak
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2018-0064
Prince Edward Hotel (no date)
Source: Toronto Postcard Club, 2016-0081
Postcard view of the Prince Edward Hotel (circa 1915)
Source: Rob McInnes
Postcard view of the drawing room in the Prince Edward Hotel (circa 1915)
Source: Rob McInnes
Postcard view of the billiard room in the Prince Edward Hotel (circa 1915)
Source: Rob McInnes
Postcard view of a double room in the Prince Edward Hotel (circa 1915)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2018-0111
Prince Edward Hotel shortly before demolition (February 1980)
Source: John Everitt Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University, JCE-1554
Prince Edward Hotel shortly before demolition (February 1980)
Source: John Everitt Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University, JCE-2306
Former Canadian Northern Railway depot beside the Prince Edward Hotel in the background (February 1980)
Source: John Everitt Collection, S. J. McKee Archives, Brandon University, JCE-2310Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.84675, W99.95048
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Manitoba Business: Pratt and Ross
Manitoba Business: Kelly Brothers / Manitoba Construction Company / Kelly Brothers and Mitchell / Thomas Kelly and Sons
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba
The Prince Edward Hotel: A Vanished Landmark, Brandon Sun, 2 June 2012.
“C.N.R.’s new Brandon hotel opens on April 1,” Manitoba Free Press, 24 February 1912, page 26.
Advertisement, Manitoba Free Press, 8 June 1912, page 28.
“C.N.R. building being rushed to completion,” Brandon Sun, 13 July 1911, page 3.
“Finishing touches for the big hotel,” Brandon Sun, 2 November 1911, page 18.
“New hotel will open for business on June 1st,” Brandon Sun, 30 May 1912, page 19.
“Opening ball was brilliant affair,” Brandon Sun, 20 June 1912, page 18.
“Prince Edward to continue as hotel,” Brandon Sun, 15 January 1955, page 2.
“Historic city landmark closing down,” Brandon Sun, 29 January 1975, page 1.
“Dance of death all that’s left for ‘Eddy,” Brandon Sun, 19 January 1980, page 9.
“Workers level half of hotel,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 February 1980, page 4.
We thank Rob McInnes and Jason Vanderhill (Vancouver Postcard Club) and the Toronto Postcard Club for providing images of the Prince Edward Hotel.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 16 December 2024
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