Corner Brook's iconic Glynmill Inn celebrates a century
In the middle of Corner Brook sits a large, 78-room hotel steeped in opulence and elegance — and a century of history in the social life of the city on Newfoundland's west coast.
The Tudor-style building with green trim opened in 1924 as a staff quarters for the pulp and paper mill's engineers and managers and later became the fancy Corner Brook Hotel.
And today, the Glynmill Inn — open for tourists, weddings and conferences — still holds its posh 1920s esthetic.
"We still continue to have our silver service and our white tablecloths and our cloth napkins. If you wanted to be seen in Corner Brook the place to dine was the Glynmill Inn," general manager Connie Rose told CBC News.
Rose has been working at the hotel for 45 years, as manager for the last 25. Most of her family have worked here.
People from Corner Brook know the place well, says Rose, and many got married in the ballroom, celebrated anniversaries at the Wine Cellar, or lunched in the Carriage Room.
In 1924, it was a very different place.
George French of the Corner Brook Museum and Archives says the building had two dining rooms at the time, one of them a members-only club. It had two bars and tennis courts around back.
"It was housing for those overseeing the construction [of the mill]," French said.
It was built by Glyn West and designed by Andrew Cobb of Halifax. The building hasn't changed much, architecturally.
On the bottom floor of the Corner Brook Museum, large pictures of Corner Brook, the paper mill and the Glynmill Inn are scattered across the walls.
Some treasures from the hotel's early days, including a gravy boat and silver platter, were donated to the museum, which also displays a dinner menu, printed on a small roll of paper, as an homage to the mill.
"Very opulent," George said.
The Glynmill Inn would have been one of the few places that had ample power, lit by lights and not lanterns. French says it got its power from the plant in Deer Lake that was part of the mill's construction.
It became a hotel in 1925, the same year the mill officially opened, when staff moved into their new homes in the townsite area of Corner Brook.
"I think it's very important. It's a landmark. Everybody knows what it looks like," said George.
"It certainly something people remember, because it's also service organizations that go there and have held events there."
WATCH | The 100-year-old Glynmill Inn and its glamorous past and present:
In the Second World War, when the Bay of Islands Patrol was formed to provide naval protection for the region, the first meetings were held there, he said, and the Rotary Club meets there today.
"It's certainly a focal point for the community."
Some of the original hotel rooms are still intact. The building has been through a fire, major renovations, and new owners, making the 100th anniversary especially important.
Rose says staff expect to be very busy this tourist summer season and hope to celebrate with a garden party in September and a New Year's Eve gala.
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