Hotel Fort Garry

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Hotel Fort Garry

• By Jojiemae Michelle

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History

• The Hotel Fort Garry was built in September 1911
  and opened in 1913. It stands at 192 feet. It
  consists of 340 rooms each with private bathroom.
  Back then, the hotel cost one million, five
  hundred dollars to build. Today it is worth
  twentyfive million dollars.

The builders used 2 800 000 bricks, 3 000 tons
of steel, 4 900 cubic yards of concrete, 70 000
square yards of plaster, 500 cods of stone, 6 to
7 miles of plumbing pipe, and 15 carloads of
sheet iron.
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Managers

• Managers of the hotel have come and gone. Some
  of the managers were Donald Trump, Philippe
  Hudon, W. Bennett Brown (1970), Jean LeBlanc
  (1972), and the present owners and managers Ida
  Albo and Rick Bell.

Ida Albo Rick Bell
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Renovations

• The hotel has went through two world wars, two
  city floods, the general strike in 1919, and a
  major fire in 1971. These natural disasters led
  to many renovations of the hotel. Ida Albo and
  Rick Bell moved the entrance from the front to
  the rear, an indoor parking was added, and
  coloured television replaced the black and white
  televisions. The front entrance was restored to
  something that almost looks like Hollywood. They
  also added powerful accent lights that makes it
  look like Disneyland. These magnificent
  renovations will make Hotel Fort Garry great
  success.

Before After
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Costs

• All these renovations have cost so much. For the
  past few years they spent 2.5 million. The
  renovations so far has cost eight million. It
  would cost another 5.6 million for other
  renovations. The hotel was also awarded 750 000
  for the powerful accent lights they did on the
  hotel.

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Fort Garry Guests
Charles Boyer
Louis Armstrong

• Jim Jan Tennant had their wedding at the
  Hotel. They got married in 1971. Party was on
  the 7th floor ballrooms.

Some famous people who stayed there were Sir
Laurence Oliver, Nat King Cole, Joan Crawford,
Louis Armstrong, Charles Boyer, Arthur Fledler,
Basil Rathbone, Charles Laughton, Nelson Eddy,
Field Marshall Montgomery, Field Marshall
Montgomerys double, Bill Murry and Queen
Elizabeth.
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Ghost

• Hotel Fort Garry is also known for the many
  haunting stories circulating the hotel since the
  1920s. The presence that people think it
  might be is a bride who committed suicide. Some
  visitors have many encounters with this
  presence. One frequent visitor from Thunder
  Bay, Ontario always checks into room 202, saying
  she doesnt want any other room, because this is
  where the spirit visits her.
• Another story that hit big headlines about room
  202, was Brenda Chamberlain, who is a 48 year old
  MP. She was in town for the partys national
  retreat. She was awaken twice by something that
  felt like someone was crawling into bed with her.
  She didnt believe in ghosts, until one of her
  fellow MPs told her that the hotel had a history
  of hauntings. This scared Brenda Chamberlain
  that she switched rooms, and would not sleep in
  the hotel again.

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Bibliography

• Cash, Martin. Winnipeg A Prairie Province
• Community Communications, 1998
• Horsman, Maureen. New hotel head named
  Winnipeg Tribune.
• October 13, 1972
• Johnson, Earl. Manitoba Montage.
• Panther Publications Limited, 1985
• Maunder, Mike Currie, Buzz. One Man, 90, in
  hospital Winnipeg Tribune.
• December 7, 1971
• McCarthy, Shawn. Liberal MP reports curious
  encounter in Wpg. hotel GM.
• September 2, 2002. A3
• Purser, Richard. Young manager for Fort Garry
  Winnipeg Tribune.
• Sinclair Jr., Gordan. Staking our hotels
  haunted room 202 WPG. Free Press
• October 30, 2002. A3
• Smith, Doug. Mysterious ghost of Fort Garry
  unmasked Winnipeg Sun.
• September 24, 1995. Pg. 10
• Walker, Morley. Fort Garrys room 202 guest is
  little boo! Camera shy WFP
• October 24, 2001. D11
• www.forgarryhotel.com
• www.fortgarryhotel.com/past_media.html

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Bibliography

• A History Manitoba- Gateway to the west volume 2
• Artibise Alan
• The History Of Canadian Cities
• Peterson Murray
• Winnipeg Landmarks- 8- Hotel Fort Garry 222
  Broadway
• October 14,1998 pg. A3
• Leah Janzen. Fort Garry Plans a Big Celebration
  WFP
• Convention Information
• Hotel Fort Garry Winnipeg MB (Pamphlet)

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Credits

• http//www.worldwidevacations.com/canada/manitoba/
  mtb101.htm
• http//www.fortgarryhotel.com/past_media.html
• http//bbhilda.topcities.com/WinnipegThen_Now.html
  
• http//www.evank.com/photos/winnipeg/A0012.jpg
• http//www.lynnpdesign.com/classicmovies/boyer/fra
  nklincards.jpg
• http//www.msichicago.org/scrapbook/scrapbook_even
  ts/jazz/jazzlegacy.html
• http//216.94.16.48/structures/index_view.cfm?phot
  oid32715881id38
• http//216.94.16.48/structures/index_view.cfm?phot
  oid15652523id38
• http//216.94.16.48/structures/index_view.cfm?phot
  oid95830084id38
• http//216.94.16.48/structures/index_view.cfm?phot
  oid97126515id38
• http//216.94.16.48/structures/index_view.cfm?phot
  oid86596104id38
• Winnipeg Hotels Fort Garry 3 N1458 1912
  Construction
• Winnipeg Hotels Fort Garry 5 N1460 1912
  Construction
• Winnipeg Hotels Fort Garry 7 N1462 1912
  Construction
• Winnipeg Hotels Fort Garry 9 N1464
  1912Construction

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THE END