Hotel McKinney, Palm Gardens, Trinidad, B.W.I.
Date
2010-06-30T13:28:03Z
Authors
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AnCoG. Agency
Abstract
The postcard shows the Hotel McKinney, Marine (Independence) Square, Port of Spain. Circa 1844 the building was known as the Ice house - a large cold-storage facility. It was constructed by Mr. Cotton when ice was a precious commodity as few owned refrigerators. He imported tons of lake ice from the United States and later imported refrigerators, ice cream and chilled foods. When he died in 1872, it was taken over by C.L. Haley who expanded it to function as the Family Hotel. In 1906 Croney and Co. took over the business. The Ice House Hotel boasted 42 rooms and a palm garden. By 1918, electric refrigeration allowed for ice cubes to be made by all and ice importation ended. In 1919 Croney and Co. sold their company to the American firm R.J. McKinney and Co. who significantly expanded the grocery stock and renamed it the Hotel McKinney and the Palm Garden Restaurant and Buffet. In 1933, the establishment was renamed the Fernandez Grocery by its new owner, Ernest Canning and when Canning’s Grocery became Hi-Lo in 1950, it was the first cash-and-carry supermarket in Trinidad. By the 1960s the structure had become dilapidated and it was demolished in 1977. Postcard number C27122.
Description
Colour: Sepia; Style: Landscape; Other: Bordered, Divided
Funding for this project has been provided by Mrs. Irma E. Goldstraw.
Funding for this project has been provided by Mrs. Irma E. Goldstraw.
Table of Contents
Keywords
Trinidad and Tobago, Postcards, Hotels--Trinidad and Tobago, Cities and towns--Trinidad and Tobago--Port of Spain, Architecture--Trinidad and Tobago, Hospitality industry--Trinidad and Tobago, Ice--Trinidad and Tobago, Supermarkets--Trinidad and Tobago