HISTORY OF THE CLARENDON HOTEL
The passion for hospitality, since 1870
New France
(1534-1760)
Between 1661 and 1667
The land is a grant to Jacques Laroë, carpenter, by the governor of the time. It is on this same land that the Clarendon Hotel and the Price Building are located today.
1685
On a map representing the city of Quebec, it is possible to see a house located at the very site of the Clarendon Hotel. According to the map's illustration, the roof has two slopes and the facade is on Des Jardins Street. D
1745
At the corner of Sainte-Anne and Des Jardins streets, on a plot of 35 by 80 feet, the surgeon Antoine Briault owns a one-story house, 38 by 35 feet.
Province of Quebec
(1763-1791)
1790
Inauguration of the Hay Market Theatre, the first theatre in the City of Quebec, in a 2-story building constructed after the conquest of 1760. The theatre occupies only the 2nd floor. On the ground floor, there is a billiard room and a tavern.
The name of the theatre comes from the fact that the hay market was nearby. The bishopric tried to prevent the opening of the theatre because it considered that the promoters did not offer satisfactory guarantees from a moral point of view.
The first play performed is The Barber of Seville, by Beaumarchais (March 2, 1791). The Hay Market Theatre was a bilingual theatre and could offer performances in both English and French.
Lower Canada
(1791-1840)
1808
Duberger's relief map locates an imposing 3-story house at the corner of Sainte-Anne and Des Jardin streets
1815
The theater closes and the building becomes the Quebec Free School.
1816-1825
Reopening of the theater.
1825-1829
The Methodists use the hall for their meetings.
1830-1831
The Freemasons use the hall for their meetings. The building is named Masonic Hall.
1831-1833
Reopening of the theater under the name Royal Haymarket Theatre.
1833-1835
The theater becomes an auction room.
1835
The auction room becomes a gymnasium: the Provincial Gymnasium.
1835-1839
The hall seems to have been used for painting exhibitions and concerts.
1839-1840
Permanent closure of the theater, either in 1839 or 1840.
United Canada
(1840-1867)
1845
The building houses the shop of tinsmith John Kane; the trustees of the Baptist church and painter J. W. McKay.
1858
Notary Siméon Lelièvre builds a 4-story house of stone and brick. The house has an 80-foot facade on Des Jardins Street. The plans are by architect Charles Baillargé.
Siméon Lelièvre's house is sold by the sheriff in 1858 to Georges-Édouard Desbarats and Stewart Derbishire who modify the building's plans to house the Queen's printing office. However, the plans include the possibility of converting the building into a residential building if the government did not remain in Quebec.
The building has an "L" shape and a long facade on Sainte-Anne. The work takes only 10 weeks, finishing in November and December. Baillargé uses the Italian-inspired neo-Renaissance style.
1860
At the corner of Sainte-Anne and Des Jardins streets, there is the printing office of Desbarats and Derbishire and the restaurant of John l'Hoist. In the neighboring building, there is the residence of John Provan Sr., confectioner.
Canadian Confederation
(1867-today)
1870
Georges-Édouard Desbarats has the building converted into a hotel by architect Edward Staveley.
The hotel is rented under the name Clarendon House. The reason for the choice of name is unknown.
The innkeeper is Willis Russel, the owner of the Hôtel St-Louis on Saint-Louis Street.
The Desbarats Printing House will occupy part of the hotel's premises until 1895.
1872
The hotel is rented to the company of Willis Russel (William Russell & Son), one of the pioneers of the hotel industry in Quebec, who also manages the Hôtel Saint-Louis, Saint-Louis Street. The Clarendon Hotel then takes the name Russell House.
1872-1895
The hotel belongs to the heirs of Desbarats and Derbishire, but is managed by William Russell & Son under the name of Russell House.
1873
According to John Gadsby who stays at the Russell House, his room is "clean and comfortable" and costs only "10s 6d. per day".
1873-1877
John Provan, confectioner, lives where the main entrance of the Clarendon is today
1873-1877
The 1873-1874 directory indicates: "Clarendon Hotel, formerly Clarendon House, W. Russell and Sons, proprietors, cor. Garden and St-Ann, U. T.". It is probably the Russell House, but both names, the new and the old, are listed in the directory.
1878-1883
The Consul General of Spain lives at 57 Sainte-Anne Street.
1890-1894
The Russell House Hotel becomes the Clarendon Hotel
The building changes ownership three times during this period.
1895
Under the direction of Thomas Hilaire Lizotte, $6,000 of renovations are undertaken: painting and wallpapering, plumbing and hot water heating.
1908
Room prices: from $2.00 to $5.00 per day.
1912
On Thursday, March 21, 1912, around 12:30 a.m., a fire breaks out in a closet.
Smoke invades the 3rd and 4th floors. When the night watchman discovers the flames, they are already dangerously large. He then raises the alarm at the hotel's private box No 311. The firefighters arrive quickly and, thanks to a strong jet of water, quickly control the fire. To reach the fire between the floors, they have to break through the 2nd floor, thus damaging the ceiling of the dining room just below.
The greatest damage was caused by water, especially since the firefighters accidentally pierced pipes from the hotel's water tank, which spilled in large quantities. Before the water supply could be cut off, a good part of the 2nd and part of the 1st floors were damaged. Hotel guests whose rooms were spared by fire and water were able to return to finish the night. The others had to manage as best they could. The damage is estimated between $2,000 and $4,000.
1924
Joseph Drapeau buys the Hôtel Clarendon and operates it with his family.
Artémise Drapeau was, in 1959, the first Quebec woman to receive the silver medal of the Order of Hotel Merit.
From 1924 to 1935, the Clarendon retains a residential character: several English-speaking families prefer to stay at the hotel during the winter months rather than remain in their homes.
Artémise Drapeau insists that the Clarendon's kitchen serves typical Quebec dishes: tourtière, Quebec-style braised chicken, bacon pancakes, pig's foot stew, Île d'Orléans blood sausage, small fish from the channels, farlouche pie, grandfathers with maple syrup, etc.
Joseph Drapeau gets up early every morning to go to the market and butcher shops. The Clarendon's table offered only fresh products.
1926-1927
Addition of a floor. The site of the former Henchey Hotel at 55-57 Sainte-Anne Street is purchased by Joseph Drapeau. 30 rooms are added to the existing 40.
Construction of a 7-story extension on the site of the former Henchey Hotel. The architect, Raoul Chênevert, is inspired by the art-deco style. The main entrance of the hotel is now on Sainte-Anne. 50 new rooms.
1926-1955
The Hotel is renamed "Hôtel Clarendon Taverne".
1943
During the Quebec conference attended by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Clarendon hosts international journalists covering the event.
1954
Major work is carried out inside the hotel.
1967
The reconstruction of the main entrance is undertaken, on the side of Rue Sainte-Anne, with the aim of restoring its appearance from the 1927s.
1973
1975
The owners, The Drapeau Family, sell the hotel to Mr. Isaac L. Gelber.
1979-1983
The Hotel Clarendon is sold on two occasions during this period.
1983
Construction of an extension to the hotel.
1984
The restaurant is renamed and now known as Le Charles-Baillargé.
1992
The Dufour family partners with Jacques Cyr.
Major interior renovations at the Clarendon: ventilation, plumbing, and electrical work, installation of sprinklers, drilling of a door on each of levels
1993
The Dufour family is the sole owner of the Clarendon.
1994
The Charles-Baillargé restaurant offers a lunch menu with meal choices between $6.50 and $9.50 (with dessert) to accommodate business people.
The dinner menu is more sophisticated: $24.95 to $30.95 (complete table d'hôte).
The hotel has 96 rooms.
1996
Raising the building by two floors and expansion.
1998
Addition of a floor with a mansard roof.
2000
Expansion for the installation of telecommunication equipment (13 antennas on the roof and wall); application of a plaster.
2005-2006
A New Era
(2012-present)
2012
The Dufour Group sells the hotel to Marcel Beaulieu.
Marcel Beaulieu sells the hotel to Michel and Marc-Olivier Côté, father and son, the current owners of the Hôtel Clarendon.
2012-2019
Significant work is undertaken to restore the Hotel's prestige.
Ambitious projects for updating and renovating the spaces are initiated: renovation of rooms and change of furniture to offer better comfort and modern amenities to the clientele, refurbishment of the restaurant and bar, reinstatement of jazz evenings on Friday and Saturday nights, revitalization and improvement of service delivery.
A new branding and a refurbishment of the Hôtel Clarendon's positioning allow it to break into new markets and develop in Quebec as well as on the international scene.
A project to study the history of the hotel is launched.
2019
A fire broke out on January 23 around 1:45 PM on the 6th floor. The flames were observed and the firefighters were called and arrived on the scene in less than 10 minutes. The fire and smoke damaged the upper floors and the roof, and the water from the sprinklers as well as that used by the firefighters in their fight against the blaze damaged the rooms, the bar, the restaurant, and the basement.
Fortunately, the damage was material in nature, and no one was injured in the fire. The guests and employees present were able to escape and take refuge at the Anglican Church, across the street from Des Jardins.
The fire was fought until late in the evening, and the firefighters had to saw through the roof in the middle to pour water several times to ensure that the fire was well controlled. It was only around 9 PM in the evening that the building was handed back to the owners by the Quebec City fire department.
The 5th and 6th floors were severely affected by the flames and smoke, and the water from the sprinklers damaged most of the rooms on the lower floors, as well as the bar, the restaurant, and the basement, forcing the owners to close the establishment to completely renovate the hotel.
2019-2020
Major renovations are undertaken from February following the fire. Not all rooms were damaged, but the decision was made to renovate everything so that nothing is overlooked.
It is a project of about 10 million dollars that begins a few weeks after the fire. The goal is ambitious: to deliver a renovated hotel in one year, up to current standards and with a new style. The major planned changes include plumbing, electricity, ventilation, and of course the redesign of the rooms.
During the year 2019, the floors are stripped and the walls are knocked down, to start everything anew. In some places, the history of the building is revealed to us: old enclosed fireplaces, forgotten doors, and even old copies of newspapers from the year 1920 are found.
At one point in the work, the rooms no longer exist and the floors are vast empty areas, exposing the hotel's century-old framework.
The 5th and 6th floors were severely affected by flames and smoke, and the sprinkler water damaged most of the rooms on the lower floors, as well as the bar, restaurant, and basement, forcing the owners to close the establishment to completely renovate the hotel.
2019
Mr. Jacques Gauthier, an experienced restaurateur, offers owners a restaurant concept overseen by him and his associates.
The idealized type of restaurant, focused on fish and seafood, welcomes its first customers on December 11, 2019.
It is the beginning of Brasserie Les Mordus, a restaurant that quickly established itself in the Old Quebec landscape with its local, affordable ingredients and dishes with original flavors.
2020
The Clarendon Hotel officially reopens on January 31, after more than a year of work.
A few weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic once again halts the hotel's operations for three months.
The second reopening of 2020, on June 23, marks the return of the Clarendon team in a new context to which the hotel industry must adapt!
The 5th and 6th floors were severely affected by flames and smoke, and the sprinkler water damaged most of the rooms on the lower floors, as well as the bar, restaurant, and basement, forcing the owners to close the establishment to completely renovate the hotel.