Four storeys, 225 rooms, wrap-around verandas and its own wharf to welcome those arriving by steamer, the International Hotel also boasted "all known modern improvements."
By all accounts it was a heck of a place.
Located on the St. Mary's River between Bruce and Elgin Street, right across from a 700-seat opera house (whatever happened to that?), it was hailed in 1889 by a writer in the Toronto Daily World paper as possibly the finest hotel in the Dominion at the time.
Too bad it burned down in 1916, despite the efforts of firefighters from Sault, Ontario and Sault, Michigan.
If you want to read more about the International Hotel, check out this article on the Sault Ste. Marie Museum's website.
Find more entries here, and check out what the museum has to offer at www.saultmuseum.com
You can also check out LOCAL2's new Friday feature, The LOCAL2 Time Machine, which features historical images and video courtesy the Sault Ste. Marie Museum.