It’s a sad day in Comox today. Last night the Oldest Licensed Establishment in BC, the Lorne Hotel, burned to the ground at age 133.
The cause of the fire is not known as of yet, but this is certainly a sad morning for downtown Comox.
Many Thanks to Chris Harding for allowing me to post these photos he took this morning:
This truly is a sad day for the Comox Valley. My Mother (Kathleen Tribe) was born and raised at the Lorne Hotel as were her brothers and sisters.. Her Mother (my Grandmother) Emily Fairbairn owned and ran the Lorne Hotel for over 35 years.I have many wonderful memories of staying at the Lorne and cleaning up the pub on Sunday mornings.An important and special piece of Comox history has been lost forever.
I am remembering when I first came to the valley. I had read a book on the ferry about the pubs of BC. Of course the Lorne was at the top of the list for must sees! It was easy to find and such a huge historic landmark in the heart of a pretty little town. I loved it right away. I worked at the Lorne for years and in looking back now I realize that I lived a lot of my life through the working years at the Lorne. As a single parent I use to bring my kids with me to work on Sunday mornings (before the pub opened) and we would have breakfast together and play the juke box and sing and dance. That was the highlight of the week for us. We had our family time and my kids knew where I was. 18 years later I still have friends from the Lorne. I always felt good about going to meet my family and friends there. I shared a lot of laughs there, made lasting friendships and met the love of my life there! But tonight I am sad for all the people that will not get the same chance to do all the great things I did at the Lorne!
t heard this on the news it was sad to hear my husband and got married there years and we always came on our anniversary i really hope you will rebuild it will be missed
Doesw any one out there know anything about the BELL HOTEL??
Thanks