Qualicum Heritage Inn

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I've been wanting to start a thread about the Qualicum Heritage Inn for 3 or 4 months now. My intentions were to post the thread in time for Halloween 2010, but I ran into a problem - the original set of photos, taken October 1st, 2010, were downloaded to my computer from my camera and then deleted by accident. I went back and took another set of photos on November 1st, 2010. The deleted set was taken on a clear blue-sky day with the yellow maple leaves still on the trees, while the November 1st set was taken on a cloudy day when all of the leaves had fallen to the ground. Other then that, both sets were practically identical.

Here's some quick facts on the building:

- former private school for boys, originally founded in September 1935 by Robert Ivan Knight.
- name was changed from the Qualicum Beach School to the Qualicum College in 1949.
- school was closed in 1979 and converted to the Qualicum College Inn.
- the Qualicum College Inn closed in 2007.
- demolition to the additions added to the building in 1970 began in January 2008.
- as of May 2008, the building's future is uncertain.

You can read more here:
http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualicum_College

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The black and white photo, courtesy BC Provincial Archives, was taken in 1949. The smaller colored photo shows the hotel in it's heyday, while my November 1st photos show the building in its present state.

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Here's a few more of the front of the Inn, then and now....

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I never had an opportunity to stay at the establishment - the building has been abandoned like this for about 3 years now.

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And more odds and ends....

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This is a view of the building's back side. Additions added to the building in 1970 were demolished in January, 2008.

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Some broken windows, courtesy the local vandals....

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I'll post a few more of the front side. You can see the moss growing through the brick work by the front doors.

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Although I didn't go inside, there were a couple of small openings around back that were big enough to get my arm and camera through. It looked like the drywall and insulation had been torn out. The plumbing is probably gone too. It would have been cool to get the full tour, but it was not available!

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Here's another view of both sides of the building - some of you will know the history of this place better than I.