Don't you think it's about time we talked about the Sault's first proper hotel?

From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:

When local businessman, J.J. Hilsinger arrived in Sault Ste. Marie in the 1960s he immediately starting looking for a business opportunity. He bought a building at the corner of Great Northern Road and Second Line West and this site became home to J.J.’s Carry-Out Kentucky Fried Chicken.

In the Sault, many older residents still refer to the fast food outlet as J.J.’s Chicken. By the early 1970s he had a vision to create a new style of hotel for the city. Using the city’s big white water tower as an inspiration for its name, the Water Tower Inn has become a familiar sight at the corner of Great Northern Road and Second Line West since the hotel opened to the public in March of 1974. 

At the time of its opening, it was the first hotel in the city with interior corridors and an indoor pool.  

The architect for the building was R.B.B. Borgoyne with Gutherie Associates designing the interior. The owner, J.J. Hilsinger wanted the interior and exterior to have a colour scheme of woody brown, and greens and autumn gold. 

The exterior was designed to blend the cedar and brick with the surrounding area. Hilsinger wanted to merge the building into the natural beauty that Algoma is known for.  The hotel originally had 109 rooms, several convention suites, a swimming pool and a dining room with seating for 60 people. Other amenities included a fitness centre and lounge rooms. The Chamber of Commerce was housed in the same building but in a separate area designed specifically for it.      

When the Water Tower Inn opened, Hilsinger put out a plea for old artifacts to implement the theme for the bar. Luckily, for him Neil McLeod who was a 75-year-old blacksmith from Ophir Aberdeen Township and Fleron Lumber answered the advertisement. McLeod had been a collector of logging equipment for many years but since they were simply collecting dust in his home he decided to clean them up and give them to the Water Tower Inn. Some of the instruments included a PeVee, which was used to pry open log jams and a Hooksmen, which was used to control and maintain the proper flow of logs up the rollway on the skids.  

In July of 1988, the hotel launched a $7-million expansion and renovation project. This included a 41,000 square foot addition to include a Pavilion Conference Centre with meeting/banquet rooms, expansion of the restaurant and bar in addition to moving and expanding the front desk. Since 1974 the hotel had undergone 2 expansions adding 45 rooms in 1981 and 30 rooms in 1985.  

The hotel’s restaurant, Jimmie John’s was a favourite meeting spot for Saultites. The Jimmie John’s Feast was a multi-course meal enjoyed by many groups. However, probably one of the favourite menu items was the ‘Seventh Heaven’ Chocolate Layer Cake!

The Water Tower Inn completed major renovations once again in 2010. They began nearly ten years earlier with approximately a quarter of the rooms being renovated and continued updating the other areas during this ten year period. Other changes that the Water Tower Inn experienced came in 2008 when Casey’s Restaurant replaced the Lone Star Grill. The front lobby was upgraded as well as the Pavilion which included an expanded McGuffin Art Gallery. 

Other parts of the hotel that were updated were the Atrium, conference room and Grand Hall.  The cost for the front lobby and Pavilion and the last 65 rooms amounted to approximately $1.3 million.  

For over 40 years the Water Tower Inn and the Hilsinger family have been a part of the tourist industry in Sault Ste. Marie.  They have not only invested into the local economy but provided many travellers with a soft pillow to rest their heads.  

Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here