With a vision to bring people from around the world to see the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, William Cornelius Van Horne, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, commissioned the building of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in 1888. The current property has an 11-storey tower designed by Walter S Painter that was completed in 1914. The original wooden structure designed by Bruce Price was destroyed by a fire in 1926 and replaced in 1928. In 1988, the building was designated as a national historic site.
