The building on the northwest corner of highways 11 and 88 — today occupied by Captain George’s Fish and Chips — is at the literal heart of Bradford. For many years, it was at the figurative heart of the town as well. In fact, the structure is one of the oldest commercial buildings in Bradford.
For its half-century, the building served as a hotel under a string of names. It’s this period that concerns us in this article.
Built in the late 19th century, the building began its existence as the Innis House under Lewis Algeo, the grandson and namesake of one of Bradford’s first settlers, Capt. Lewis Algeo, who arrived in 1819. The hotel catered to farmers bringing produce to the railway siding or travellers weary from long train rides.
Though it’s hard to imagine today since much of the building has been demolished over the years, the hotel once had two dozen comfortable guestrooms, a bar for gentlemen, a salon for women to gather in, and a dining room. It was lit by acetylene gas lamps, a luxury for the era, but a dangerous one as acetylene was highly combustible.
Though the hotel was busy and profitable, owners came and went frequently over the years. In 1899, Peter Holt purchased the business and renamed it the Central Hotel, an apt name given its location in town. Later, it changed hands again. New owner George Webb decided to engage in a whimsical play on words by renaming it the Uneeda Hotel.
The building’s time as a hotel came to an end in 1918, when the building was sold and transformed into a branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, the forerunner of CIBC. Prior to the change, it had been the longest-running hotel in Bradford.
