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Heads We Win!
John Timmins G&PA Vancouver
The Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C, was a fitting venue for the launch of a Canadian
coin commemorating the Canadian Pacific Railway's central role in the history of the country.
Left: Marilyn Harvey played host to guests at the store opening and coin launch.
Right: Artist Susanne Duranceau poses with large display version of new $200 gold coin. |
The event was timed to coincide with the official opening of a new Canadian Pacific Store, the latest in a
chain of retail outlets catering to the public's desire for souvenir items related to the CPR. The 1908 hostelry, where the new store swung its doors open to
the public, is one of the most famous hotels in the country and the western anchor in Canadian Pacific's hotel chain.
The unveiling of the $200 gold coin was sponsored by the Royal Canadian Mint. The coin sells for $414.95 and can be purchased directly from the Mint, coin
dealers, and a number of financial institutions. Canadian Pacific Stores are among the authorized retailers.
The 22-karat gold coin is the newest design in the Mint's Canadian Culture and Traditions series. Entitled Transcontinental Landscapes, the coin pays homage to
CPR passenger train travel from the 1920s to 1950s.
On the reverse side, a mighty Selkirk locomotive steams across the picturesque Stoney Creek Bridge in British Columbia. Stoney Creek Bridge was built of wood
in 1885, replaced by a steel arch structure in 1894, and reinforced in 1929 to carry heavier traffic. It is one of the most spectacular bridges on CP Rail
System's main line.
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Ghost from the past: "Van Horne" welcomes guests at opening. |
Actor Tim Crofton, who played a loud and entertaining William Cornelius Van Horne, the first general
manager of the CPR, characterized the hotel's invited guests as "folks with a sense of history".
Among the folks who gathered in the tearoom were Bill Stinson chairman and CEO of Canadian Pacific Limited, I.B. Scott former CEO of CPRS, Robert DeMone
chairman president and CEO of Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts, Marty Cove chief operating officer of E&N Railfreight, Diana Beattie vice-president of
corporate affairs for the Royal Canadian Mint, and Susanne Duranceau artist and designer of the gold coin. Duranceau has been nominated for a Governor
General's Award for art.
In a brief address Stinson said the railway is well served by remembering its history: "There are not many companies in North America that are
115-years-old. You get to be that old by changing and by maintaining a sense of history".
An honor guard of two RCMP officers escorted Van Horne at the coin launch ceremony, drawing attention to the police force's longstanding relationship with the
CPR, and in particular, the railway's sponsorship of the RCMP Musical Ride.
The new Canadian Pacific Store in Victoria's Empress Hotel is one of five similar stores located in the company's hotels in Whistler, B.C., Banff, Alberta,
Toronto and Quebec City. A sixth store in the chain is scheduled to open in Hotel Vancouver later this year.
The stores carry a wide selection of reproduction railway items, including marker lamps, CPR badges, pins, posters, stationery, silverware, and travel
accessories.
Products are displayed in museum settings which draw upon CPR history. Most of the items are custom-made exclusively for Canadian Pacific Hotels &
Resorts. |
