Address: 331 Smith Street (Map)
Opened: November 18, 1914
Architect: James Chisholm (1913); J. H. G. Russell (1923 expansion)
Contractors: Carter-Halls-Aldinger (1913 and 1923)
Background:
The roots of today's Marlborough Hotel go back to four Italian businessmen and a little restaurant on Portage Avenue.
Giuseppe (Joseph) Panaro and Leonardi Emma came to Winnipeg from Sicily in 1892 and operated a fruit and confectionery store on Main Street, on the present-day site of the Canadian Wheat Board Building. In 1900, the business expanded to include a restaurant.
Brothers Augustine and Joseph Badali operated a fruit and confectionery store at the corner of Portage Avenue and Smith Street. When their premises were demolished in 1905 to make way for the first Kensington Building, they reopened on the main floor of the new building.
The expanded shop included a restaurant called the Olympia Cafe and attracted new business partners in Panaro and Emma.
November 14, 1914, Winnipeg Tribune
They hired prominent architect James Chisolm and Son, who: “...refused to be influenced by the present-day tendency to use with abandon the over-decorated and superficial styles of the French period and have followed, instead, the quiet, beautiful Gothic school of Medieval England, with just sufficient of the renaissance added to give the air of elegance and luxury common to metropolitan hotel life.”
November 14, 1914, Winnipeg Tribune
Constructed by Carter-Halls-Aldinger, the facade of the four storey structure, aside from the simple granite base, is of terra cotta.
The cast iron and glass marquee features five Gothic lamps weighing one ton each and was manufactured in Elmwood by Western Steel and Iron Works.
In the back lane off Smith Street, there is a cornerstone containing the architect's name in a gothic script.
The Gothic design carries through to the interior.
The main floor features marble pillars and floors with Caen stone walls and oak paneling. Another feature is the elegant stained glass windows, three of which feature fairy tale characters such as Cinderella and the prince from Beauty and the Beast. Other features include large hanging lamps by Tiffany and Co. of New York.
The main floor and mezzanine housed the administrative offices of the hotel, including the telegraph room and switchboard. It was also home to the main lounge, a ladies’ reception room, dining room and bar. Retail services included private phone booths, a barber shop, and a news and cigar stand. There was a more informal grill room in the basement accessible via a marble staircase.
The investors did not take a chance on the management of such a fine hotel. They hired A. T. Folger, who had been the manager of Ottawa's Chateau Laurier since it opened in 1912. Folger, a "charming" native of North Carolina, and his wife arrived in the city just days before the Olympia's grand opening at 2:00 p.m. on November 18, 1914.
The timing could not have been worse. When first envisioned in 1912, Winnipeg was enjoying the most prosperous year in its history. Money and luxury were no object, as reflected in the hotel's reported $900,000 price tag. Compare that to the $1.5 million that the Hotel Fort Garry cost just two years earlier, which was funded by a deep-pocketed national railway.
The following year, Winnipeg fell into a recession, which deepened at the start of the First World War. The war also shrank the market for luxury travel and extravagant events. The city's other top hotels, the Fort Garry and Royal Alexandra, both owned by railways, could at least funnel their steady stream of train and ship passengers into them at lower rates to fill rooms. For a stand-alone venue such as the Olympia, that option didn't exist.
Newspapers did not often report on the ongoing bad news of large advertisers. The first cracks, though, appeared in an April 1915 Free Press report that Folger had tendered his resignation back in February. He refused to discuss the reasons why, but confirmed that he would stay on until the end of April so that a successor could be appointed.
It turns out that a successor would not be needed. In a single paragraph story in the Free Press on May 5, 1915, it was reported that creditors had stepped in the week before and tried to attract additional investors or new buyers. There were none to be found, so it was agreed that the hotel would cease operations immediately. (A news story five years later noted that only one payment had ever been made on the building's $350,000 mortgage.)
The creditors tried to salvage what they could by selling off the building's furnishings at pennies on the dollar. A sign of how bad things likely were for the hotel: some of the bedroom suites were advertised as "never been used".
The war may have been the final nail in the coffin for the Olympia, but it was also its salvation for the creditor (the Great West Securities Co.). The federal government was desperately seeking space to house soldiers who came to Winnipeg from across the region. The Olympia, with its large rooms, dining facilities, meeting space and its close proximity to both train stations, was a perfect fit.
It was announced in Feburuay 1916 that the federal government had leased the hotel as the new recruiting centre and barracks for the 184th Battalion. It took just a week to outfit it with army-issue bunks and furniture. The former luxury hotel was featured prominently in some of the 184th's recruiting ads, noting that it had the "finest barracks in Canada".
Many young, single soldiers gave up their apartments when they enlisted. As a result, dozens of war dead list "The Olympia Hotel" as their final address.
The government vacated the building in 1918, and the following year it was leased to local hotelier John Lee for about $10,000. Lee had a long history of owning and managing hotels in the city, including the National and the St. Regis.
Soon after taking over, other services such as the restaurant and barber shop were reopened and the hotel was back in full swing.
Lee remained at the Olympia until December 1919, when Thomas Babin took over for a period of a few months. Babin pushed the food and entertainment side of the business by introducing after-theatre suppers and dances, masquerade balls, Sunday afternoon concerts, and daily meal specials in all of their restaurants.
The Olympia soon became the venue for many of the city's largest conferences and banquets.
Things went so well that in March 1920, architect J H G Russel was hired to draw up a five-storey addition to the hotel (a further sign of how bullish the original owners were, the building was constructed with such an expansion in mind.) Carter-Halls-Aldinger returned as the contractor.
The timing could not have been worse. When first envisioned in 1912, Winnipeg was enjoying the most prosperous year in its history. Money and luxury were no object, as reflected in the hotel's reported $900,000 price tag. Compare that to the $1.5 million that the Hotel Fort Garry cost just two years earlier, which was funded by a deep-pocketed national railway.
The following year, Winnipeg fell into a recession, which deepened at the start of the First World War. The war also shrank the market for luxury travel and extravagant events. The city's other top hotels, the Fort Garry and Royal Alexandra, both owned by railways, could at least funnel their steady stream of train and ship passengers into them at lower rates to fill rooms. For a stand-alone venue such as the Olympia, that option didn't exist.
May 28, 1915, Winnipeg Tribune
Newspapers did not often report on the ongoing bad news of large advertisers. The first cracks, though, appeared in an April 1915 Free Press report that Folger had tendered his resignation back in February. He refused to discuss the reasons why, but confirmed that he would stay on until the end of April so that a successor could be appointed.
It turns out that a successor would not be needed. In a single paragraph story in the Free Press on May 5, 1915, it was reported that creditors had stepped in the week before and tried to attract additional investors or new buyers. There were none to be found, so it was agreed that the hotel would cease operations immediately. (A news story five years later noted that only one payment had ever been made on the building's $350,000 mortgage.)
The creditors tried to salvage what they could by selling off the building's furnishings at pennies on the dollar. A sign of how bad things likely were for the hotel: some of the bedroom suites were advertised as "never been used".
The war may have been the final nail in the coffin for the Olympia, but it was also its salvation for the creditor (the Great West Securities Co.). The federal government was desperately seeking space to house soldiers who came to Winnipeg from across the region. The Olympia, with its large rooms, dining facilities, meeting space and its close proximity to both train stations, was a perfect fit.
Many young, single soldiers gave up their apartments when they enlisted. As a result, dozens of war dead list "The Olympia Hotel" as their final address.
Top: February 19, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune
Bottom: February 23, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune
The government vacated the building in 1918, and the following year it was leased to local hotelier John Lee for about $10,000. Lee had a long history of owning and managing hotels in the city, including the National and the St. Regis.
Soon after taking over, other services such as the restaurant and barber shop were reopened and the hotel was back in full swing.
Top: December 23, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune
Bottom: December 30, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune
Lee remained at the Olympia until December 1919, when Thomas Babin took over for a period of a few months. Babin pushed the food and entertainment side of the business by introducing after-theatre suppers and dances, masquerade balls, Sunday afternoon concerts, and daily meal specials in all of their restaurants.
The Olympia soon became the venue for many of the city's largest conferences and banquets.
Things went so well that in March 1920, architect J H G Russel was hired to draw up a five-storey addition to the hotel (a further sign of how bullish the original owners were, the building was constructed with such an expansion in mind.) Carter-Halls-Aldinger returned as the contractor.
July 9, 1921, Winnipeg Tribune
It was originally thought that the hotel could remain open during the $600,000 expansion, but soon after the work got underway in the spring of 1921, it became apparent that it would have to close as new elevators and mechanical areas had to be added to the original structure. The hotel closed on June 15, 1921.
Seventy men worked on the reinforced concrete addition, which is clad in Fort William corduroy red brick with Bedford stone trim. The main feature of the addition was the eighth floor 50 x 52-foot banquet room (called Marlborough Hall) with its own kitchen and an adjoining 50 x 40-foot concert room called the Blue Room. The two spaces could be opened into each other for large events.
Ralph H. Webb (source)
While construction was underway, Col. Ralph Webb, manager of the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, was hired on to run the expanded business.
Webb had previously lived in Winnipeg from 1906 until he left to serve in the war. It was a fortunate hire for not only the hotel, but the city. Webb became a huge Winnipeg booster and, just two years later, became its mayor.
Besides a new manager, the hotel would reopen with a new name: The Marlborough.
July 10, 1923, Winnipeg Free Press
It had a "soft opening" on May 3, 1923, when it hosted the University of Manitoba Student Union's end of year dance in the new ballroom, but it did not formally open until July 10, 1923.
The new hotel boasted 230 bedrooms, each with its own bath. One planned feature that never got constructed was a rooftop garden restaurant.
It appears that Great West Securities Co. sold the building the year after the expansion. Whether that was to finally recoup its money after 20 lean years, or due to the financial stress of the delayed opening, is not clear.
Several organisations of note had a connection to the hotel. In 1925, it was the site of the conference that created the Royal Canadian Legion. A number of local organizations, from the Winnipeg Board of Trade to the Winnipeg Press Club had their headquarters there.
Bottom: April 5, 1957, Winnipeg Free Press
Through the 1950s, the hotel industry began to change. Old world charm was giving way to "motor hotels" with their easy-access parking and rooms that featured modern amenities like air conditioning and full bathrooms. The Marlborough decided that it would give customers the best of both worlds.
In 1956, Libling Michener and Associates was hired to design a $1.85 million dollar expansion. the first phase was a new, self-serve parkade that opened right across the street in April 1957. At the same time, work got underway on an eight-storey addition to the north of the old hotel.
Marlborough Hotel postcard ca 1960s
The new wing opened on February 4, 1960.
It introduced the Skyview Ballroom, which, combined with the adjoining Marlborough Hall, made the hotel the largest conference centre between Toronto and Vancouver. At the gala opening, Winnipeg ex-pat and Canadian singing icon Juliette performed.
With the "new" hotel, came new management. David Rothstein was appointed president and general manager of the ownership group while Kenneth Belyea, former general manager of the Ritz Towers in New York City, became the manager.
The ballroom combined with venues such as Churchill's Dining Room made the Marlborough one of the places to be seen in Winnipeg.
Competition from motor hotels and the shrinking train travel market had devastating effects on old-school, higher-end downtown hotels.
After years of decline and lack of investment, the CPR's Royal Alexandra Hotel on Higgins Avenue was demolished in 1971. In 1979, CN sold the Hotel Fort Garry to independent owners needing millions of dollars in upgrades. The Marlborough saw a similar decline.
The German Canadian Congress purchased the hotel in 1990 for a rumoured $5.5 million with the intention of turning it into a seniors home. When government funding fell through, the hotel closed briefly in August 1992 before reverting to its previous owners.
The hotel underwent renovations and by 1995 was operating under the Ramada Hotel banner as the Ramada Marlborough Hotel.
In September 2001, the hotel was purchased for $4.1 million by a new ownership group that wanted to invest millions to renovate the building and convert former office and conference space on the top two floors of the old wing to guest rooms. They applied for a Heritage Tax Credit in 2004.
One significant investment by the new owners was the purchase of the closed Garrick Cinema to the east of the hotel, which it converted into a conference centre and one of the cinema spaces into a waterslide and swimming pool for the hotel. The main floor Regal Beagle bar replaced a series of short-lived nightclubs in 2002.
UPDATE:
By the 2010s, the hotel had fallen on hard times and was taking in medical stay clients as much as regular hotel visitors. It received horrible hotel reviews and was making the news for all the wrong reasons, such as failing fire inspections, boiler failures, fires, and murder.
The final straw came in late 2023 when a woman allegedly tried to stab a member of the hotel staff with a knife and was restrained by security until police came. Video of her being held made the rounds on social media, which led to protests outside and inside the hotel in January 2024. After one of the protests the hotel closed temporarily due to threats to staff and management of the hotel and it never reopened.
In March 2026, the mayor announced in a speech that there was a proposal to turn the Marlborough Hotel into a 307-unit housing block, with 40 of them affordable rent units. The hotel had used about 150 rooms, mostly in the newer wing, so this would mean a renovation of space in the old wing and perhaps conversion of some conference and other space into rooms.
Related:
My photo album of the Marlborough Hotel
331 Smith Street Winnipeg's Historic Buildings Committee
Marlborough Hotel Winnipeg Architecture Foundation
Our History The Marlborough Hotel
The Skyview Ballroom was a beautiful place back in the seventies. My mother belonged to the Rebekah's the women's arm of the Odd Fellows Organization. My uncle was grand secretary for years. I, my twin sister and younger sister belonged to the young girls division called Theta Row. We held our yearly meeting there and the junior Odd Fellows were held at the same time. We did drills in the ballroom and called our meetings together. The meetings were great and a real eye-opener for a young person like me. I was about twelve at the time. Thanks for your website and your interesting posts.
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