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| Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel Banff, Alberta, Canada |
A statue of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, who oversaw the construction of the first Canadian transcontinental railroad, stands outside this palatial hotel. The original wood structure built at the confluence of the Bow and Spray rivers in what is now Banff National Park opened in 1888. But it was destroyed by fire in 1926 and rebuilt in its present configuration in 1928. After struggling for much of the century, in the 1970s the hotel was open for its first winter season, making it a year-round destination today.
"Since we can't export the scenery, we'll have to import the tourists."
I converted this photo to black and white to provide a more engaging picture since there was little color in the brick walls.