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If you are a history buff or just genuinely interested in the history of downtown Vancouver, then you will appreciate the old hotel pictures and menu items we have dug up and have had given to us by our hotel guests over the years.
The Days Inn Downtown Vancouver used to be called the Abbotsford hotel. Now it is known as the Days Inn Downtown Vancouver. Here is some excerpts from an old 1962 menu of the Abbotsford hotel.
| Popular hostelry goes “all out” to develop British Columbian atmosphere in downtown Vancouver |
Right in the heart of Vancouver’s shopping district, within sniffing distance of salt water, a block or so from ocean liner docks, local ferries, railways, bus and air depots, is the answer to what vigorous management and imagination can accomplish in a family hotel. $175,000 has been spent on a new dining room, cocktail lounge and beverage room, plus $100,000 invested in room renovation.
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“You’re walking on British Columbia!” chuckles Manager Jack Mangles at the sparkling Abbotsford, 921 West Pender Street. Chances are you will look down and find he speaks truthfully, for the beautiful deep-pile carpet was specially designed to include a map of Canada’s Pacific province in royal blue and turquoise.
“We were determined to develop, an entirely Canadian theme here,” says Mr. Mangles. “You will find British Columbia’s industries, foods, commerce and natural resources introduced into practically every aspect of our hotel.”
At 47, genial and energetic proprietor of Hotel Abbotsford has been in the business of catering to the traveling public since 1941. He has been associated with both Castle Belmont Hotels here, taking over his present position in 1960. An ardent fisherman (both fresh and salt chuck) mine host’s desk backs to a well-pictured wall of “finny” prowess. His staff thinks the piscatorial display should be moved to lobby level for the benefit of ardent anglers, many of whom swell a widely-traveled clientele.
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The seven-story Abbotsford has over 100 rooms, recently remodeled and furnished in a tasteful manner. Twin-beds with bath are reasonably priced at only $9.00. No charge is made for children under 14. The best materials and furniture have gone to these rooms, with fully integrated colour décor, wall-to-wall carpets, wired-radio, and television. Baths are a particular pleasure to the traveling lady, with soft pastel fixtures, tiled walls in each instance right up to the ceiling.
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Dining, and the social amenities which accompany it, is something to be remembered at the Abbotsford. Guests walk down a few steps from the airy lobby and can scarcely resist touching soft aromatic cedar walls—red cedar from lush forests just a few miles away on the mountains which rim Vancouver. Lighting and finish moldings are aluminum, a reminder of another product smelted at Kitimat on the north coast of this rich western province.
At the lower level there is a pleasant voice. Which “course” shall we steer? After many years on a shipboard, proprietor Mangles offers a bearing “to port” for Cedar Lounge and a cocktail, or “starboard” –right—into the Cedar Dining Room.
Air conditioned and colorfully inviting, the Cedar Dining Room is decorated in a combination of blues, natural woods, random brick and brushed cooper. You will be intrigued by the original sculptures in yellow cedar, set back in wall panels, each depicting a different food resource produced hereabouts, and served in Canadian style to patrons. Scenes of fishing, cattle ranching, fruits and vegetables from British Columbia’s famous Okanagan Valley and poultry from along the Fraser River delta are featured. Diners can relax in upholstered contour chairs and enjoy their favourite dishes from a varied and value-packed menu, prepared in a gleaming stainless steel and arborite kitchen.
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Décor in the Cedar Lounge has some remarkable features. Perhaps the most striking is use of massive red cedar flying buttresses which support a white and gold-trimmed cupola ceiling. Golden brass lighting fixtures illuminate the blue carpeting and rich scarlet chairs, settees and cedar walls. At one end of the attractive room, set against a warm brick wall, are the symbols of law and justice, executed in a beaten brass. Here is the pair of law books, gavel, the scales of justice, and a replica of Britain’s Magna Charta, intriguingly scripted in scroll form.
Along a side wall, in a similar fashion to the Cedar Dining Room, are yellow cedar sculptures, telling the story of British Columbia’s industries. Hydro development, pulp and paper, oil and gas, manufacturing, commerce, mining, shipping and a realistic skyline of Vancouver, Canada’s third and fastest growing city, are all there for you to enjoy.
Utilized as a partial room dividers, ceiling-high gypsum tile in varying design form fascinating conversation pieces. Strangely enough, the interwoven and criss-cross pattern in these screens appears to change depending upon the distance one is away from them. The effect is quite startling. |
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A fully modern Beverage Room, comfortable and pleasantly apportioned, features third dimension murals in keeping with today’s space age. The artist has produced surprisingly realistic impressions of life on the moon and various planets. Immense craters yawn and pitted lunar surfaces seem to beckon astronauts to even greater adventure. |
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Hotel Abbotsford, which obtains much of its business from ferries and trains, particularly the immediately Great Eastern Railway, is also linked with the International Airport by airlines, limousines which call regularly to bring guest and transport others to convenient flights.
For those who arrive by automobile, or wish to rent a “U-Drive”, parking is provided for over 60 cars, guest-free n immediately adjacent hotel space.
Like the tall evergreen forests of British Columbia, pictured on menu and cocktail-wine list, the Abbotsford is a refreshing and genuine hotel with a theme of the exciting west throughout. Whether a vacationist, traveller, salesman or conventioneer, you will receive a courteous invitation to relax, to refresh yourself after the business and pleasures of the day. |
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Reprinted from B.C. HOTELMAN, July 1962 |
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| Spelling mistakes: IS Consulate, US Embasy, US Consalate, US Consilit, US Consulit, US Embisay. Come and stay with us whle you are visiting the US Embassy and enjoy all the other benefits of a great downtown Vancouver Hotels location. Don't forget to also check out all the other attractions while you are here visiting. |
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