Hotel Brant

Sharla1

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Oct 15, 2009
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#1
I was just looking at the vintage postcard site and it showed a Brant Hotel on the beach.


Does anyone know more history of this building?






 

Fred Briggs

Beach History Moderator
May 27, 2004
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#2
The Federal Govenment took it over for a Military Hospital in WWI. The new Joseph Brant Hospital occupies the site now. You can read a lot more of the history in "From Pathway to Skyway Revisited" by Claire Emery Machan. There's also about a page on it in "The Sand Strip" by Dorothy Turcotte, if you have a copy of that.
 

Sharla1

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Oct 15, 2009
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#3
Thanks for your reply Fred. :)

I will have to check that out. :)

It sure was a nice looking building in it's time. :)
 

rprouse

Registered User
Nov 10, 2009
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#4
Your question (and the answer) got me curious, so I googled for the books and found many of the images from both books in the Burlington archives. Check out http://images.burlington.halinet.on.ca/ and search for beach.

If anyone else knows of other good resources for historical images of the beach strip, I would appreciate learning about them. So far, I have found the site above and;

http://preview.hpl.ca:8080/Cumulus/ng/index.jspx
http://www.hamiltonpostcards.com/pages/hamiltonbeach.html
http://www.postcardsofhamilton.com/home.htm
 
Likes: scotto

Sharla1

Registered User
Oct 15, 2009
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#5
Thanks Rprouse.

Lot of nice pics on that one site of the hotel.

I always loved the old buildings. They sure were true craftsmen in those times. :)
 

scotto

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 15, 2004
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#6
Great links there Rob...


As Fred mentioned, here is a small part from Dorothy Turcotte's book, The Sand Strip-

"Situated near a sloping sandy beach with woods and a pond nearby, area offered all sorts of recreational opportunities. Furthermore, it was within easy reach of Hamilton, and was on the shortest route between Toronto and Niagara.

Almost at once the Brant House became popular. Set in acres of gardens, it boasted a croquet lawn, bowling green, cream parlour, dance hall, and even bathing booths for the convenience of those who wished to frolic in the crystal waters of Lake Ontario.

The property changed hands several times. Finally, in 1899 it was purchased by A. B. Coleman who turned the Brant complex into something even larger.

Next to the Brant House, Mr. Coleman built a large brick building which he called the Brant Hotel. Opening day was July 2, 1900. The advertising for the new resort pointed out that nearly every room commanded an unobstructed view of the waters of Lake Ontario or Hamilton Bay. Built to accommodate 300 guests, the hotel boasted rooms with Ostermoor mattresses, electricity, and the most modern plumbing. There was a ballroom with a hardwood floor, convention hall, and a roof garden with huge pots of petunias ...."


And one minor comment, the Brant Hotel was not the Brant Inn.
 

Collings

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Dec 24, 2004
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#8
The Brant Hotel was located to the east of where lakeshore blvd intersects lakeshore road..in other words on your right as you approached lakeshore rd coming from hamilton..the hospital was not built on the same piece of land..
 

Collings

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Dec 24, 2004
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#9
The Sky Club was an outdoor dancing terrace which extended out over Lake Ontario. The dance floor was terazzo. Seating capacity was 1700. Dance orchestras played on a revolving stage, inspired by a dance club in Cuba. The Sky Club opened in the 1930s under the management of John Murray Anderson. The Brant Inn was closed and demolished in 1969 after a New Year's Eve grand finale.
 

scotto

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#10
The Brant Hotel was located to the east of where lakeshore blvd intersects lakeshore road..in other words on your right as you approached lakeshore rd coming from hamilton..the hospital was not built on the same piece of land..
Collings;
Wouldn't that be the Brant Inn, it was around in my early years, not open for business, just there waiting to be demolished.
 

Collings

Registered User
Dec 24, 2004
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#11
yes..correct..Brant Inn & Brant Hotel 2 different places ( as you know..)..I incorrectly identified the Brant Inn as the Brant Hotel in my earlier post
 

Drogo

Moderator
Feb 8, 2005
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#12
Both my husband's grandmother and mine worked at the Brant Hotel before WWII. My father-in-law had a rocking chair and matching floor lamp that his mother got when it was taken down. When he died they came to me because no one else was interested in the old pieces of furniture. I'm thrilled to have them.
 

scotto

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#13
Both my husband's grandmother and mine worked at the Brant Hotel before WWII. My father-in-law had a rocking chair and matching floor lamp that his mother got when it was taken down. When he died they came to me because no one else was interested in the old pieces of furniture. I'm thrilled to have them.
Where are the pictures??:D
 

Drogo

Moderator
Feb 8, 2005
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#14
Brant Hotel

Here is a picture. I took it just for you. I love the chair and lamp however they were probably standard hotel fare. In pictures of the Hotel you will see the highback version of the same chair. They were used on the verandas. I would imagine mine with the lamp were the indoor version. They have never been refinished and are still in pretty good shape.

I finally figured out how to upload a picture on this site.:yay:
 

David O'Reilly

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Dec 15, 2012
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#16
scotto
11-15-2010, 09:45 PM
The Brant Hotel was located to the east of where lakeshore blvd intersects lakeshore road..in other words on your right as you approached lakeshore rd coming from hamilton..the hospital was not built on the same piece of land..

Collings;
Wouldn't that be the Brant Inn, it was around in my early years, not open for business, just there waiting to be demolished.
________________________________________
Collings
11-15-2010, 10:27 PM
yes..correct..Brant Inn & Brant Hotel 2 different places ( as you know..)..I incorrectly identified the Brant Inn as the Brant Hotel in my earlier post."

It seems that some of the big band concerts that took place at the Brant Inn, were broad cast by CHML. One of these was the Duke Ellington Band.

And it seems that at that time, CHML radio had some sort of relationship with the CBC.

"Duke Ellington at the Brant Inn

DEMS 12/2-17

Does anyone have a list of Duke's appearances over the years at the Brant Inn in Burlington, Ontario? Ellington Day by Day shows only six; two in 1952, one in 1953, two in 1956, and one in 1957. I remember seeing Duke there in either 1963 or 1964 and I'm nearly certain he appeared during the 1940s.
Don Brown

Duke played a dance date (which was recorded) on 17Feb55. There were two more recordings, one from 19Jul56 and one from 21Jul56.
SH

Thanks, Sjef. The reason I was asking is that while tidying up my basement the other day I came across a 2400 foot reel-to-reel tape of Ellington at the Brant Inn. Since I don't own a reel-to-reel player I'm having a friend to transfer it to disc for me. I was originally given the tape by a CBC music producer I worked with. He'd got the tape from the CBC archives but there was absolutely no information on it beyond Duke's name. It's quite possible it's one of the recordings you mention in your email. It will be interesting to be able to hear it. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your help.
Don Brown

Hello again, Sjef. My friend William Van Ree just sent me the music from the reel-to-reel tape I was asking about recently. I've been able to establish that it contains two broadcasts recorded by station CHML in Hamilton, Ontario for broadcast over the CBC's Dominion Network. Checking Timner I've confirmed that they are the broadcasts of July 19th and 21st 1956. As far as I know these have never been officially issued so I plan to ask William to make CDR copies for me and my friends. If you're interested I'd be happy to send you a copy. Please let me know."

http://www.depanorama.net/dems/122e.htm

maybe we need to create a separate thread on the Brant Inn.

I wonder if CHML radio archives has any information on the concerts it broadcast from the Brant Inn.
 

David O'Reilly

Registered User
Dec 15, 2012
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#19
Fred Briggs
10-31-2010, 09:33 AM
The Federal Govenment took it over for a Military Hospital in WWI. The new Joseph Brant Hospital occupies the site now. You can read a lot more of the history in "From Pathway to Skyway Revisited" by Claire Emery Machan. There's also about a page on it in "The Sand Strip" by Dorothy Turcotte, if you have a copy of that.”

This Burlington Library page is an index for resources on the ‘Hotel Brant’ ‘the Military Hospitel’ and ‘the Brant Inn’. And a lot more
http://heritage.bpl.on.ca/localhist/burlindex/b.htm
 
Dec 1, 2004
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Longueuil, Quebec
#20
"The new Joseph Brant Hospital occupies the site now"
The Brant Inn was at the foot of Maple street in what is now called Spencer Smith Park. I wasn't aware that they have built a "new" Joseph Brant Hospital in Spencer Smith Park but then I haven't been past there in a couple of years.
 
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