Kelowna - Now and Then

[LANDM]

Mr. QK's dad used to work at Marshall Wells.

Do you remember Mr. WAC Bennett sitting in lounge chairs at Bennetts?

Do you remember juke boxes at the tables at the Olympia Pizza downtown?

Oh this is good for the memory!!! I do recall my parents parents speaking about the elder Bennett in the window!.
How I would love to see a picture of THAT!

Olympia Pizza not so much, I was allowed to go to Pizza Hut near Spall where I played the Dobie Grey Drifting Away on their juke box ad nauseum!

When dining out downtown, the Long's Drug store lunch counter was where we always went.

We went to Sings. Great chinese food and relatively inexpensive at the time for a big family.
A couple of pages back there was talk of the zoo. I remember that very clearly. How about the cow with the glass viewing pane to the stomach at the Summerland Research Station?

[grammafreddy]

How about the cow with the glass viewing pane to the stomach at the Summerland Research Station?

I remember that!!! It was so long ago I was afraid I'd only dreamed it or something, so was afraid to mention it here. LOL

I remember the original Eldorado (and their vehicle). Such a shame we lost that. It was very impressive - and soooo very olde British. I spent my wedding night there.



The Hotel Eldorado HISTORY

The Hotel Eldorado’s history reads like a fairytale, complete with royalty and adventure. The Hotel Eldorado’s origins trace back to the Countess Bubna Litite of Austria. The Countess erected the Eldorado Arms Inn in 1926 on a property located three miles south of our current location. The Countess wanted to create a place where her weary European visitors could relax and indulge in some of the luxuries they had grown accustomed to in the homeland.

The original hotel had twelve rooms, communal lavatories and a luxurious main floor consisting of kitchen, dining lobby and office. At first the Eldorado catered mainly to the local ranch hands and cowboys from the nearby Eldorado Ranch. Over the years, the Countess improved the property, adding many outbuildings featuring screened verandas that overlooked a meandering brook. The large and elegant grounds became home to lavish garden parties that helped put Kelowna on the map internationally. Over time, the Eldorado became far less of a farmhouse and more of a hotel, attracting guests from all over Europe and North America. Even then, the Eldorado was recognized as a quality establishment offering fabulous food, beverage and accommodation.

The mystique and legacy of the Eldorado was furthered throughout the nineteen fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties by then owner and former Kelowna Mayor, John Hindle. During this period, the Eldorado’s reputation as a premier lakefront property was enhanced and the hotel became firmly entrenched as an Okanagan institution. A series of different owners, each with different ideas for the Eldorado Arms and the land upon which the hotel sat, occupied the Eldorado throughout the mid to late nineteen eighties. In nineteen eighty-nine, current owner, Jim Nixon, saved the Eldorado Arms from demolition and ambitiously moved the hotel up the lake by barge to its present location. Shortly after coming ashore, arson struck and completely burned the original building to the ground. After a short period of mourning, Jim undauntedly set out to rebuild Kelowna’s oldest hotel. With help from the original foundation, the new building became a near replica of the old Arms. Carpenters meticulously built the “El” the way they would have built the project originally, paying attention to detail and using plenty of wood. The new building opened one year later on St. Patrick’s Day, 1990.

http://www.kelownagolfski.com/eldorado-history.htm ... not eaxactly up to date - it doesn't mention the second fire or the fact that when it was rebuilt it didn't look like the original at all.

Wonder where Jim Nixon is these days. He also was the one who did the School House Pub in Black Mountain. My mom donated some old school books for that project. It was very cool.

[BankheadStore]

Enjoyed that post about the Eldorado Arms!
I too remember the cow at the experimental station. If I recall correctly the cow wasn't too appealing - poor soul. I remember being really excited before driving to Summerland, my mom talked about it and I thought it would be much different. Maybe I thought it would be more cartoon like, but my memory is that the 'window' was stained and ooozy looking and I felt bad for the cow after. Does anybody else have memories of the cow?

[janalta]

I loved the original Eldorado Arms....that was my old neighborhood growing up.

The 'new' Eldorado is one of the changes in Kelowna that I just can't stomach.
It's not the Eldorado, it's a new building in a completely different location...never understood why they chose to move it.

It used to be such a beautiful, elegant place. Now, it's just another restaurant/lounge with little character :(

[Queen K]

HEAVY BUMP:

The dock question is addressed somewhere in the above posts. This thread mimics the "YOU really know you are from Kelowna" thread, but there are different posts in it, with different posters and different memories and photos.

I started this thread not knowing someone already did.

[phasyluck]

Paul, the guy who used to ride a bike all the time and introduce himself and say hello, unlike 99.99% of the population? I don't recall the weather question but if this is the same person, I have to say, "I don't know". Anyone else?

Paul was mentally challenged, and yes he always rode a bike. I seem to remember hearing that he would swear at people as well, though to me he seemed intelligent enough to know better. I thought of him the other day, and realized I hadn't seen or heard of him in at least 15 years. I wonder whatever became of this fellow. He'd be in his 40's now...

Lakeshore Paul...I believe he has passed on.

[Queen K]

I remember when the willow trees on Rotary Beach were first planted. Now they are huge.

[ChuckTaylorGirl]

How long ago was that? I don't remember Mr. Mike's being in Rutland.

I I remember the coins & key's lacquered into the tables

[ChuckTaylorGirl]

I remember when the McDonalds across from Orchard Park had a cracking roof and mice.

It also had the fish tanks

[ChuckTaylorGirl]

Here are a couple from the 1960's:

Table Supply
in Rutland at the 4 corners where 7-11 is now. It was an all-purpose general store, very old-fashioned. And next door to that was...

Buster Brown Shoes

But my favourite was the frog pond right next to Bankhead Store. It is now all filled in and made into a green park, but back then we hunted tadpoles and toads in the ravine, which no longer exists. Bankhead Store surprisingly still exists. I used to get jawbreakers there with my weekly allowance (a dime).

Was the Shoe store in Orchard Park Kinney's? Or was it next door???

[ChuckTaylorGirl]

I forgot all about the "pond" near Bankhead store! We used to go to the park between Willow Crescent and Highland Drive to do our tadpole/frog hunting.

Did anyone climb Dilworth Mountain when they were kids? We used to access a trail off what I think was Eagle Drive. Glenmore school used to take classes on field trips up there!

I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but does anyone remember the stage in City Park near the bridge?

The Jubilee Bowl!

[ChuckTaylorGirl]

Another Oldie But Goodie - Cloud 9 on Bernard!

[Queen K]

ChuckTaylorGirl, And thanks for finding this thread.

Yes, the coins at Mr. Mikes!

How long have you been in Kelowna? Do you remember the upside down volcanic ceiling at the original Olympia Pizza on Bernard? Remember how it was painted a burnt orange? Now that was cool.

[1nick]

Anyone mention the guy we called "stryder"?He used to walk all over the place with a arm full of books.
We'd see him McD's smoking and going back and forth making marks in his text books.

[Queen K]

Greasy, dark lank hair? Glasses? Haven't seen him for like forever. I knew of him when I went to Ok College, he accosted me on the bus one day over whether or not I actually read those textbooks I had.