One of the S.S. Sicamous's most beautiful artifacts may seem to have a simple past. However, the story of the grand mirror from the Incola Hotel is undoubtedly more devious than one would expect.
In 1912, two years before the launch of the S.S. Sicamous, the Canadian Pacific Railway company opened up the Incola Hotel for business. They did so to provide accommodation to anyone passing through Penticton, often those awaiting a train or ship.
Although this gorgeous mirror did once hang on one of the many walls of the Incola Hotel, it is important to note that it is not original to the hotel’s design. When highways were introduced to the city of Penticton, the population’s desire to travel via train or ship dropped significantly. This led to the final trip and later the abandonment of the S.S. Sicamous in 1936. Although clinging on for several years, the Incola Hotel fell into decline in 1948.
Before its eventual closure in 1979, the building fell victim to severe neglect. This resulted in its new status as a broken-down and rotting fire hazard, its fine features replaced by fake Italian exterior that did not match the original CPR Tudor style construction of the hotel. The building soon became a hotspot for biker gangs and similar operations who were regularly receiving performances from strippers.
The grand mirror was introduced to the Incola Hotel during its era of decline, its arrival date unfortunately unrecorded but likely occurring around 1970-72. The mirror was installed by the aforementioned groups into the beer parlor, acting as a backdrop to where strippers would perform on stage with a fireman's brass pole. When the Incola Hotel closed down in 1979, the beer parlour was the only section of the hotel that was still operating.
In 1981, the hotel was demolished and its assets were scattered. The owner of the local country radio station (named “Great Valleys” back then, now rebranded to “CIGV-FM”), Ralph Robinson, acquired the grand mirror and brought it to his home on Farrell Street, where it would stand in the north end of his front room.
When Ralph Robinson and his wife grew older and became unable to care for their home any longer, they contacted museum curator Randy Manuel to retrieve the artifact to display inside of the Penticton museum. That is where it stayed until the decision was made to display the mirror inside of the S.S. Sicamous.
The mirror is possibly French-made after the year of 1850. However, we are unable to know for sure unless the incredibly heavy and fragile mirror is removed from the wall and the back of the frame is closely examined.
Information provided by Randy Manuel.
Comments