The first time the wind shifted the Prince of Wales Hotel, its builders pulled it back. On 10 December 1926, each wing moved about 7.5 centimetres off its foundation, according to Parks Canada’s construction history. Contractors Douglas Oland and James Scott used winches to bring the sections into line. [1]
Three months later, another storm shifted the building again. By then the frame was complete. Oland feared that pulling it back would cause structural damage, so he chose to leave it slightly out of plumb. [1] That was a decision made during construction, not a description of the hotel’s present structural condition.
Where is this place?
Prince of Wales Hotel, Waterton Lakes, Alberta. This map locates the town or region, not a verified exact historic event site.
Getting the materials to this hill above Upper Waterton Lake had been difficult enough. In an account published by the hotel’s operator, historian Ray Djuff describes rain turning the road from Cardston into mud that trucks could not cross. Winter brought a firmer, frozen road. When the mud returned in spring, the crew used horses and wagons. [2]
The intended building was changing too. The operator’s history describes an initial scheme of several four-storey buildings with as many as 300 rooms, reduced to a single, taller hotel with 90 rooms. The construction crews had to keep adjusting to the revised plan. [2]
Its steep roofs, gables, balconies and timber-framed interior followed the Swiss-chalet theme of the Great Northern Railway’s resorts. Parks Canada identifies it as the railway’s only Canadian link in that network of American park hotels. [3]
The opening, first intended for June, finally came on 25 July 1927. Djuff’s account says the grounds were still littered with building materials and debris when guests arrived. [2]