Written by staff member, Jamie
The Queen Hotel was once a popular place to stay on Hollis Street. Originally called the International Hotel, on the east side of Hollis, between Sackville and Salter Streets. This was then-called the business district, which was known to have had the best accommodations, including the Queen Hotel.
Built in sections between 1849 to 1908, the Queen Hotel was especially desirable for its great view of the harbour. In 1873 it was gutted by fire and was rebuilt, and ultimately renamed in 1886 by A.B. Sheraton. It was said that a great deal of business was conducted at the hotel. It was a favoured destination for politicians, and became known as “the after-hours Province House.”
By 1930 (at the time of the above postcard), the Queen Hotel was a shadow of its former glory, as it had been run down from the toll of the Great Depression. It required major work to bring it up to standard. The hotel was purchased in 1936 by an entrepreneur named John Simon for $17,500. He assured staff that the Queen Hotel would become a first-class hotel again.
He did not keep his promise—the Queen Hotel was destined for tragedy. The hotel was a fire hazard. It had five storeys, long halls with wooden interiors, no sprinklers, alarm systems or watermain service, and the fire escapes were inaccessible as the landings were made of wood. There were no ropes in the rooms for escape and no exit signs. So, when the hotel caught fire early in the morning on March 2, 1939, it was devastating. At least 28 lives were lost, and more were injured. It proved to be the greatest blaze Halifax had seen since the 1917 explosion, and one of the country’s worst hotel fires.
Firefighters were not prepared to deal with a blaze of this magnitude. Their one aerial ladder was not high enough to adequately reach the upper floors and was deemed old and unsafe. Overhead wires hampered their efforts until their equipment was able to cut through the wires. This prevented them from getting close to the fire quickly, even though the fire station was located on Bedford Row, only a block away.
This tragedy was a major learning opportunity for the city. They subsequently overhauled regulations to ensure better accountability and increased enforcement powers. Although there were theories as to the cause, including a disgruntled employee who showed up the night before the fire, it was never determined how the fire started. Blame for the hotel fell on the shoulders of Simon, when it was determined there were no fire safety features at the hotel, and staff had no training for fire procedures.
In the 1950s, the Ralston Building was built in its place, which housed Canada Revenue Agency offices among other over the years. More recently, it was vacant (since 2016) and finally demolished in 2019. Now in its place, a nearly $100 million, 21 storey, 462-unit, mixed use development called the Meridian anticipated to open 2027, is being erected where the elegant Queen Hotel once stood.
References
Crime Wave: Con Men, Rogues and Scoundrels From Nova Scotia’s Past by Dean Jobb. Lawrencetown, N.S.: Pottersfield Press, 1991.
Edwardian Halifax: Postcard Glimpses of an Era 1900-1920 by Dan Soucoup. Halifax, N.S.: Nimbus Publishing Company Limited, 1998.
Halifax: South End by James Cornall. Charleston, South Carolina, USA: Arcadia Publishing, 1998.
“Queen Hotel Fire – Hollis Street,” by Don Snider. The Seniors’ Advocate April/May 2002.
The Smoke-Eaters: A History of Firefighting in Nove Scotia c. 1750-1950 by Mike Parker. Halifax, N.S.: Nimbus Publishing Company Limited, 2002.
The Story of Firefighting in Canada by Donal Baird. Erin, Ontario: The Boston Mills Press, 1986.
250 Years of Progress by Allison Lawlor. Halifax, N.S.: Nimbus Publishing Company Limited, 2005.
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