I’m sure that many of you can remember The Westport Inn, which had once been called the Alhambra.  Standing on the outside curve of George Street, The Westport Inn was a local landmark for many years, even after its doors closed to overnight guests.  Abandoned and largely forgotten (except by those that would sneak in to play cards), the large hotel fell into disrepair and was torn down in the 1980’s.

The Alhambra Inn was located on the outer curve of George Street.

The Alhambra (later known as The Westport Inn) was mentioned in the pages of “Nell’s Diary” ~ “Alhambra Hotel changed hands Nov 1st – 1941 – Hagan & Mitchell Proprietors”.

There probably aren’t a lot of locals that can still remember The Ryan.  Built in the 1920’s, The Ryan was touted as being one of the finest hotels in all of Canada.  With fishing from the balconies that faced the water, and a river running through the basement where boats could be driven inside the hotel, it was widely promoted and was said to be fully booked for its grand opening.  A grand opening that never happened.  The Ryan was suspiciously destroyed by fire before it ever saw its first guest.  We will talk more about The Ryan when we cover the fires of Westport at a later date.

Destroyed by fire under mysterious circumstances, The Ryan was situated at the water’s edge below the annex to The Cove. The current Grist Mill Gallery is built on part of the foundation of what was once thought of as ‘Westport’s white elephant’.