The Vendome was built in 1892 under the proprietorship of Charles Hand and his wife Laura Hand. It opened in 1893 and was widely considered at the time to be the most modern hotel in Western Ontario. Designed by architect T.J Rutley from Chatham, the Vendome Hotel drew heavily upon the popular Queen Anne style architecture. Standing at four stories in height, the hotel featured a slate roof, corner tower, and balconies with intricate cast iron railing looking over the street and St. Clair River. Rates in the early 1900’s was anywhere from $1.50 to $2.00 per night.
When G.B Macfarlane purchased the hotel and its contents from the estate of Laura Hand in 1937, the Vendome had already experienced three additions and was known to be the biggest and most modern hotel in the city. It featured 77 guest rooms and held the Canadian National Telegraph Office. The hotel once again changed hands after it was severely damaged by the 1953 Sarnia Tornado. It was taken over by William and Mabel Soyko who rebuilt the Vendome. They eventually sold the hotel to the City of Sarnia in 1970 and it was torn down shortly after to make way for a parking lot.
Included in the Archives’ collection from this hotel is restaurant menus, registration cards, and business stationary, letters of payment, and the recently digitized hotel registers.
Vendome Hotel Records
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