The Clarendon Hotel, or Clarendon House (), is a high-end

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

in the historic neighbourhood of

Old Quebec Old Quebec (, ) is a historic neighbourhood of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Comprising the Upper Town () and Lower Town (), the area is a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Administratively, Old Quebec is part of the Vieux-Québec� ...

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. It is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the city. The original building, on the corner of Rue Sainte-Anne and des Jardins, was a house built in 1858 and designed by

Charles Baillairgé Charles Baillairgé (29 September 182610 May 1906) was an architect, land surveyor, civil engineer, and an author. He was from a long line of sculptors, painters, and architects that began with his great grandfather, Jean Baillairgé. He was invol ...

. It was built as a four-storey house, and was almost immediately sold to Queen's Printers

George-Édouard Desbarats George-Édouard-Amable Desbarats (5 April 1838 – 18 February 1893) was an influential Canadian printer and inventor. Life and career The Desbarats were an established printing family. The first of the family to settle was Joseph Desbarats f ...

and

Stewart Derbishire Stewart Derbishire (1794 or 1795 – March 27, 1863) was the first elected representative for Bytown in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. Born in England, he was a strong Whig. At various times he was an ensign in the B ...

. The building hosted the printers (and various smaller businesses) until 1870, when it became the Russel House hotel, which was sold in 1894, and renamed the Clarendon Hotel. The hotel changed hands again several times until it became part of the Dufour Group hotels. Important extensions and modifications were made to the building during the 20th century: two extra floors with

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

and a six-floor

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

extension at 57 Rue Sainte-Anne where the main entrance, originally on des Jardins, was relocated. Soon after, another extension was built to enlarge the hotel. The hotel boasts a fine

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

restaurant, Le Charles Baillairgé, and a bar, L'Emprise, were renowned live

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

shows used to be held until 2006. The main architectural interest of the building is its brick Art Deco

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

, completed in 1927 and designed by Raoul Chênevert. It also has

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

grilles and canopy, giving it a unique combination of styles. Built a few years before neighbouring

Édifice Price The Édifice Price () is an 18-floor (originally 16) skyscraper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1928–1930 amid controversy for Price Brothers Limited, it is the tallest building in the Old Quebec historical district, as well as one ...

, its decoration is more geometric than figurative. The building still keeps its

wicket In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...

entrance. The hotel serves as a backdrop to

Nicole Brossard Nicole Brossard (born November 27, 1943) is a French-Canadian formalist poet and novelist. Her work is known for exploration of feminist themes and for challenging masculine-oriented language and points of view in French literature. She lives i ...

's novel ''Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon'' ().

References

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External links

*
Hotel Clarendon
from Yahoo! Travel
Postal card: Clarendon Hotel
date unknown. Quebec National Archives
Postal card: Ladies' Drawing room
{Dead link, date=July 2020, bot=InternetArchiveBot, fix-attempted=yes , date unknown. Quebec National Archives Hotels in Quebec City Old Quebec Art Deco architecture in Canada Houses completed in 1858 Hotel buildings completed in 1925 Hotels established in 1870 Art Nouveau architecture in Canada Art Nouveau hotels Canadian companies established in 1870 1870 establishments in Quebec