Day 1

Before 1914, the best houses in town were not only those with the finest selection of liquors and cigars, but also those that would avoid being destroyed by fire the longest. This is your invitation to explore some of the more colourful events surrounding Regina's early hospitality industry: liquor sold after hours, daring escapes from fire on the upper floors of some of Regina's "First-Class" hotels; lodgings in livery stables and in tents were all regular occurrence in Regina at a time of considerable pressure on the city's guests accommodations.

Meet Florent Arnold, one of the best-loved and celebrated hoteliers/chefs in Regina before 1900. Where did horsemen hangout after hours? What was the hottest neighbourhood in Regina? How much did it cost to build a hotel in 1907? What did journalists and their escorts eat at the Western Canadian Press Association's banquet in 1909? These are but a few of the questions and answers uncovered in the first archaeological study of early Regina's hospitality industry.

Time travel helps shed new light on the role of hotels today as places to meet, gather, share information and find shelter in an unfamiliar place. Come backstage with us and explore, in entertaining fashion, the precursors of modern hotels and the issues they faced during one of the most pivotal periods of Regina's urban development.