Time Traveller: Greetings from Hotel Capilano

This photo from the 1910s shows the Hotel Capilano with owner Dickson Kells and family in the foreground. Kells was a native of Ireland and came to Canada around 1897. He built the Capilano Hotel at the Capilano Dam in 1906.

Advertisements for the Hotel Capilano boasted of its excellent cuisine, good fishing and shooting, beautiful mountain scenery, and “every accommodation.” It was located a few hours hike from the summit of Mount Crown and the Lions making it an attractive getaway for hikers.

The hotel would close for the winter season and reopen again in the spring. To attract guests from across Burrard Inlet, Kells ran a tally-ho (or, a horse-drawn shuttle) once a day from the North Vancouver Ferry, with two trips a day on Saturdays and Sundays.

Visit the MONOVA website for more information about the history of the North Shore and to learn about MONOVA: Museum of North Vancouver, opening in 2021.

Currently, the Archives of North Vancouver at 3203 Institute Rd. in Lynn Valley is open by appointment only. Contact: [email protected]