The Beach House Hotel: Lake Minnewanka's First Hotel
The Beach House Hotel Lake Minnewanka's First Hotel [Beach House, Lake Minnewanka], ca. 1890, A. B. Thom (Winnipeg, MB), Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Brett Family fonds (V83/PA/7/231) Arriving in Banff in 1886, Willoughby John Astley, along with W. H. Desbrowne, decided to build the first ever hotel on Lake Minnewanka. A log structure was completed in 1886/87 and aptly named the Beach House Hotel. [Lake Minnewanka], [1890], Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Astley Family fonds (V394/PA-1) In June of 1889, Willoughby's brother, Charles D'oyley Astley, his wife Lucy Ann Andrew, and their infant daughter Violet Louisa would join him at the hotel. In 1890 Willoughby was contracted by the Canadian Pacific Railway to build a small two bedroom chalet at Laggan, now known as Lake Louise (pictured below). After the construction , Willoughby was hired to run this chalet at Laggan and a fter his departure, his br...