McDonald Hotel - Prince George, BC
N 53° 54.964 W 122° 44.582
10U E 516877 N 5974213
This marker denotes the location of the old McDonald Hotel, which was demolished in 1991 for the construction of the new court house in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.
Waymark Code: WMHR6W
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 08/07/2013
Views: 2
McDonald Hotel
David McDonald built the Club Cafe on this site next door to the C.C. Reid Grocery in the spring of 1920. He intended his enterprise to become "a first-class modern restaurant." Club Cafe operated successfully for five years. At that point, he made extensive renovations to the premises and re-opened on Saturday March 28, 1925 as the McDonald Hotel and Cafe.
Further renovations were made in 1950 after another owner, John Bailey, spent $200,000 on upgrading and refurbishing the building to create the "New McDonald Hotel" officially re-opened September 1, 1950. Sixty guest rooms on the two upper floors featured bathrooms, telephones and elm desks. The lobby floor accommodated a 50-seat dining room and men's and ladies' beer parlours each with a capacity of 250. A further expansion in 1955 added more space. The building came to a dramatic end in a fire on May 22, 1970 started by some downstairs wiring. Just two days earlier, the building had passed a fire inspection. Citizen Editor, A.N. Skae, described the hotel's significance as the site of major conventions and as headquarters for the Board of Trade. "The city has lost a link with its past."
Owner Gerry Cooke rebuilt the hotel, affectionately called "The Mac", which was ready for business in January 1972. The new hotel was constructed as a four-storey building with special features like stained glass windows on the first floor.
The McDonald Hotel was demolished in 1991 as part of the site preparation for building the court house.
City of Prince George