Item

Construction of the Algonquin

St. Andrew Bay Pilot
Dec 6, 1888
“Thursday last Mr. D. McNichol, general passenger agent, and Mr. C. E. McPherson, Boston passenger agent of the Canada Pacific Railway arrived in town by train. They were met at the station by Mr. L. M. S. Horton, Manager of the St. Andrews Land Co., who invited them to be seated in a carriage in waiting, and drove them to the different points of interest in, and in the immediate vicinity of the town, including the site for the Algonquin hotel. The gentlemen expressed themselves as well pleased with all they saw, and of the facilities St. Andrews appeared to be possessed of, not only as a summer resort, but for that of a deep-sea terminus as well. The objective point of their visit was to see what arrangements can be made as to the running of trains next summer to and from St. Andrews in connection with the C. P. R. It is proposed to afford all possible facilities for the residents of Montreal and other Canadian cities to reach SA, to place it on as favorable footing in reference to rates, car accommodation and speed, as other points. The run from Montreal to St. Andrews will be made in less than twelve hours, the fare the same as to Orchard Beach or adjacent points thereto in Maine. The gentlemen were hospitably entertained at Kennedy’s hotel. They left town by special train at 8:00 p. m. en route for Saint John. “St. Andrews is all right.”

Pilot
Dec 6/1888
Corner stone of Algonquin laid. Copy of St. Telegraph containing description of construction of bldg placed in cavity along w Bay Pilot. See photocopy and below.

Laying the Corner Stone
Monday last the 3rd inst., the foundation stone of the ‘Algonquin’ hotel was laid by Miss Carrie B. Horton, the accomplished daughter of Mr. L. M. S. Horton, Manager of the St. Andrews Land Co., in presence of a number of gentlemen of SA, interested in the work. In the cavity prepared for the purpose, was deposited coin of the Dominion and of the United States; a copy of the St. John Telegraph containing a description of the building in the process of erection. We purpose at an early day to publish an engraving of the hotel as it will appear when completed together with a full description thereof and its surroundings.

Pilot
Dec 13/1888
Work on the A hotel is being vigorously pushed under the superintendence of Mr. Robert Stevenson, master carpenter. . . . Upwards of forty men are employed.

Pilot
Jan 3/1889
First picture of Algonquin. See photocopy. Desc. of hotel amenities.
See photocopy and below.

“We present to the subscribers and readers of the Bay Pilot, on this our 1st issue of the year 1889, an engraving of the Algonquin Hotel, now in process of construction in this town, which will be admitted by all to be a sightly structure. The name Algonquin is taken from that of the tribe of American Indians, who in the days of Columbus, and for hundreds of years before his time, were the owners of the land and roamed through the forest primeval in quest of game, and caught in the ever beautiful Passamaquoddy bay fish, with which then as now its waters abounded.
            The Algonquin was designed by Reed [sic] and Taylor, Architects, of Boston, Mass., U. S., upon the most approved methods of construction; it will be replete with every convenience and luxury now demanded by the summer tourists. It is located on the highest point in the town plot, at the north west end of the ridge on the western slope of which the town is built, and in the immediate vicinity of Fort Tipperary, and is one hundred and fifty feet above high water. From its piazzas’, three hundred and forty feet long by fourteen wide, and its windows, is had a magnificent view of Chamcook Mountain, St. Croix river, Passamaquoddy bay, the Bay of Fundy, and the group of islands known as the West Isles, which divide the waters of the two bays, outside of looms up Grand Manan [sic] and the Wolves. Immediately in the foreground nestles the dear old town of St. Andrews, embowered in leaf and flower, while the view from the windows and piazzas is surpassingly fine, that from the tower will be grand, embracing an area of at least 20 miles on every hand by land, and seaward bounded only by the horizon.
            The drainage from the Algonquin will be by carefully constructed sewers with a descent of 7 ½ percent directly into the sea 2000 feet distant.
            The house will be provided with an elevator, salt and fresh water baths, a laundry and other modern requisites, together with a spacious dining room, parlors, reception, waiting and billiard rooms, etc.
            The Algonquin is intended to be a hotel of the very highest class, basing its claims upon its equipment and management. Mr. F. A. Jones, the well-known and popular proprietor of the Hotel Dufferin, in St. John, will have the management of the Algonquin, he being the lessee. This in itself is a guarantee of success, for every one who knows Mr. Jones knows that he is well qualified for the position.”
            LIST OF THE STOCKHOLDERS IN THE ALGONQUIN, PUBLISHED IN THE ROYAL GAZETTE
            The capital stock is $50,000, in five hundred shares of $100 each. Already $80,000 has been subscribed by the people of New Brunswick, Maine and Massachusetts. Messrs. W. A. Murchie, of Calais, Robert S. Gardiner, of Newton, Mass., and Eugene F. Fay, of Brookline, Mass., are named as provisional directors. The incorporators are: William D. Forster, William E. Mallory, George D. Grimmer, Leonard B. Knight, Herbert Street, M. N. Cockburn, J Russell Bradford, James Scallan, G. Herbert Lamb, James Cummings, F. Howard Grimmer, J. D. Grimmer, Michael McMonagle, St Andrews.
            William A. Murchie, Albert H. Sawyer, E. B. Todd, Calais. Eugene F. Fay, Roscoe A. Cobb, Daniel B. Claflin, J. Emory Hoar, Brookline, Mass. Robert S. Gardiner, DWS Bell, Newton, Mass. Abraham Avery, George L. Connor, Boston, Mass. Charles F. Lord, C. F. Bragg, Bangor, Maine. J. B. Coyle, F. E. Boothby, Portland, Maine. F. B. Noyes, Stonington, Con.,
            G. B. Dunn, H. T. Frisbie, Walter Mansure, Aubrey M. Smith, Charles P. Allen, James Phair, Houlton and Presque Isle, Maine.
            Fred A. Jones, Jas Manchester, Morris Robinson, T. Barclay R Robinson, James Robertson, William Greig, John Kerr, E. Fisher, J. C. Robertson, J. F. Dookrill, W. H. Thorne, J. R. Stone, J. S. Harding, Thomas McAvity, George Robertson, William Wheeler, George, W. Ketchum, Robert, T. Clinch, J. D. Shafford, Louis Green, Charles Campbell, Thomas Clarke, St. John. M. J. Hogan, Fred P. Thomson, A. F. Randolph, Thomas Temple, W. T. Whitehead, John A. Edwards, Fredericton. Frederick M. Murchie, John, D. Bonners, W. C. H. Grimmer, Charles H. Clarke, John D. Chipman, Julius T. Whitlock, Henry E. Hill, Frank Todd, Henry F. Todd, Wm. F. Todd, St. Stephen.
            Jabez B. Snowball, Chatham, NB. A. Markham, Markhamville. Fred. H. Hals, Woodstock. William Douglas, Moore’s Mills. George T. Baskin, McAdam.

Pilot
Jan 10/1889
Work on the A is going with a rush. Should the weather prove favourable the roof will be covered this week. The rooms are all studded and in a few days will be lathed ready for plastering.

Windows and door frames at Algonquin being put in. Also wires for electric bells.

Pilot
Feb 23/1889
From Boston Post:
The syndicate of wealthy capitalists, numbering several well-known Bostonians, who have undertaken the development of SA, NB, the pretty little seaport of Passamaquoddy Bay, as a summer resort, have already spent $100,000 in beautifying and improving the place. They have erected a superb hotel, the Algonquin, containing eighty-seven rooms, with every modern convenience, at a cost of $60,000, and placed it in charge of Fred. A. Jones of the Dufferin Hotel, St. John, N. B., a widely known host. A public park has also been laid out at a cost of $15,000, and numerous cottages erected. [not true] The scheme comprehends the laying of water pipes and electric lights in the near future. Climate and scenery being all that could be desired, distance from, the New England capital seemed the only possible obstacle to overcome. This has been met as far as practicable by the Boston and Maine, Maine Central and New Brunswick railroads undertaking to run through trains in twelve hours from Boston to SA, at very low rates, on and after the 1st day of June next. The fine boats on the I. S. S. Co., also offer a pleasant and cheap means of access to this Mecca of summer tourists. Of course under the forcing power of all this Yankee activity and capital, town lots in the little Shiretown are ‘booming.’ Eligible building sites are at 300 percent premium over last spring. The inhabitants of the provinces are also rapidly awakening to the possibility of development enjoyed by St. Andrews when it becomes one of the termini of the C. P. R., as it will in June next. The new line from Mattawamkeag Junction to Sherbrooke P. Q., through northern Maine, will be by that time open for traffic, with a schedule of fourteen hours from Montreal to Passamaquoddy Bay. The knowledge of this may have induced Sir Donald Smith, vice-president C. P. R. and Sir Leonard Tilley, governor of NB, to invest, as they have, in building lots. This line, as now constructed, is practically the old route as projected before the construction of the Intercolonial railroad, but decided against by the British government for military reasons. The traffic of the C. C. R. is sure to suffer heavily by the completion of the new line. A steam yacht is being built to enable visitors to explore the islands of the bay in comfort. There will also be excellent facilities for dancing, lawn tennis and fishing, both for trout and land-locked salmon.”

Pilot
March 21/1889
Pilot Valedictory.
The Algonquin hotel, the engraving of which we republish by request, is fast approaching completion. It is safe to say that no enterprise in this town has ever been so energetically prosecuted as that of the erection of this large and sightly structure, excepting we might say that of the erection of Kennedy’s hotel. The outlook from the A is of the most charming description, presenting a panoramic view of beauty by flood and field, seldom equalled and less frequently excelled. From the eyrie on the tower which is at an elevation of 105 feet from the ground, and 255 feet above high water mark, one sees the town of Sa, lying in all its beauty, the eye takes in the public buildings, churches court house, marine hospital, etc., together with the leaf embowered cottages, dotted here and there within its limits, while immediately adjoining lies . . .”

[April 8/1889--Eugene Fay to B. R. Stevenson MS3-Z-199: “I enclose to you deed of Robert S. Gardiner to St. Andrews Land Co., of the Hotel lot. As I understand the matter, you have examined the title, and made it satisfactory to Mr. Gardiner. If so, it will be only necessary I suppose, for you to place this deed upon record without any further expense.  Mr. Gardiner hands us deed David Green to Thomas Hipwell, and Thomas Hipwell to Robert S. Gardiner. Also William H. Herbert to Robert S. Gardiner. Also a discharge mortgage, John Erskine to Robert Ker. Also a deed, Mathilda Street to Robert Ker. These are all the papers in connection with the matter that Mr. Gardiner has, and I presume you have others that you will think desirable to send me in order to make the old deed complete.”]

Beacon
May 9/1889
First Algonquin ad, first issue.
This new and magnificent summer resort Hotel will be open for the season of 1889, July 1st.
Electric bells, Passenger Elevator, Lighted by Gas, Telegraph Office, Steam Laundry,
Everything new and first-class
No ref to hay fever nor any in Kennedy ad.