[Bcma-l] Re: [Bcma-l] (Fwd) HCF / FHC Communiqué : The Can adian Museum of Rail Tra

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

Warm congratulations to Garry Anderson in Cranbrook for both the Heritage 
Canada award and the work that both he and his colleagues have done to 
preserve, restore, and display this fascinating part of the Royal Alexandra 
Hotel - a place I stayed in for a month or so back in 1948 or 49.

My Dad was transferred temporarily from Edmonton to Winnipeg where he worked 
as a CNR policeman. Our mom took us by train to visit him, and I still have 
memories of my younger brother and I misbehaving in the Manitoba Legislative 
building (running around to the point of being shown the door).

Later, in 1958-59 when I was in the Airforce at Winnipeg, I missed the 
chance of going back to the hotel for a look, and when again there for 
awhile in the mid-Seventies, I had lost my chance as the structure was gone.

 So, well done again, Garry! Will make a point of oneday soon visiting your 
Museum and try to envision those days so long ago. (I think I remember the 
pancakes there, and my first taste of real maple syrup).

Dan Gallacher

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca>
To: <bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca>
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 10:57 AM
Subject: [Bcma-l] (Fwd) HCF / FHC Communiqué : The Can adian Museum of Rail 
Tra


>
> ------- Forwarded message follows -------
> Date sent:      Fri, 4 May 2007 12:08:46 -0400 (EDT)
> From:           heritagecanadafoundation@heritagecanada.org
> To:             list@list.heritagecanada.org
> Subject:        HCF / FHC Communiqué : The Can
> adian Museum of Rail Travel to
>  receive a Heritage Canada Foundation 2007 Achievement Award
>
> Please share with your members and colleagues
>
>                    Heritage Canada Foundation /
>                    La fondation Héritage Canada
>
>                             Communiqué
>
>          The Canadian Museum of Rail Travel to receive a
>          Heritage Canada Foundation 2007 Achievement Award
>
> Ottawa, ON May 4, 2007 â?" The Heritage Canada Foundation
> and Heritage BC are pleased to announce that the Canadian
> Museum of Rail Travel in Cranbrook, British Columbia, will
> receive a 2007 Achievement Award for the ambitious and
> creative Royal Alexandra Hall Restoration project. The award
> will be presented to Garry Anderson, executive director of the
> Canadian Museum of Rail Travel.
>
> The Royal Alexandra Hall, originally known as the Grand
> Café, was one of the finer features of the Royal Alexandra
> Hotel, which was built in 1906 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, by the
> Canadian Pacific Railway. A favourite spot with Winnipeggers
> and the thousands of travellers who visited it, the café
> became synonymous with Edwardian elegance and first-class
> service.
>
> When the hotel was demolished in 1971, the room was
> dismantled piece by piece and, except for the curved beamed
> ceiling, stored for 25 years in a semi-trailer before being
> purchased in 1996 by Streit Brothers Antiques. In 1999, the
> Canadian Museum of Rail Travel (CMRT) learned of the room
> and purchased the contents, along with the massive two-storey-
> high carved oak fireplace from the hotelâ?Ts formal dining
> room. The Grand Café was recreated in the Royal Alexandra
> Hall, complete with vaulted ceiling and eight curved double
> French doors, as a major Millennium project.
>
> â?oThe Royal Alexandra Hall restoration project is one that we
> are delighted to recognize,â?� said Heritage Canada Foundation
> executive director Natalie Bull. â?oThe Canadian Museum of
> Rail Travel hasâ?"with much dedication and
> ingenuityâ?"brought the elegance of the Grand Café back to
> life for all to enjoy. We congratulate this small community for
> such an ambitious project.â?�
>
> â?oI think the appeal is the unusual nature of the project,â?�
> said Rick Goodacre, executive director of Heritage BC, â?othe
> rather â?~fairy taleâ?T nature of this improbable story, and the
> determination of the CMRT to bring it back to life.â?�
>
> Today, the elegant Royal Alexandra Hall is the centrepiece of
> the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel and its Deluxe Railway
> Hotel Architectural Tour. The space is also rented out for
> community and museum events.
>
> This Heritage Canada Foundation Achievement Award, given
> jointly with Heritage BC, recognizes outstanding work in
> heritage advocacy and volunteerism, as well as projects that
> demonstrate a communityâ?Ts commitment to heritage
> conservation. It will be presented to Mr. Anderson at Heritage
> BCâ?Ts annual general meeting in North Vancouver on Friday,
> June 1, 2007.
>
> The Heritage Canada Foundation is a national, membership-
> based, non-profit organization with a mandate to promote the
> preservation of Canadaâ?Ts historic buildings and places.
>
>
>                                -30-
> For further information:
> Carolyn Quinn, Director of Communications, Heritage Canada
> Foundation, cquinn@heritagecanada.org; Telephone: (613)
> 237-1066, ext. 229; Cell: (613) 797-7206.
>
>
>
> ------- End of forwarded message -------
>
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