BACKTRACKS SALOON & DINER

In January of 1927 a fire broke out in The Biggar. The fire was said to be caused by a cigarette stub. J. L. Mulligan was fortunately staying at the hotel, and happened to be a former member of the Calgary fire department. By the time the local fire department responded, the fire was almost out completely... "Eugene Baron, a native of France, built the Biggar Hotel at 115 First Avenue West in 1909, just down the street from the town's other hotel, the Empire, built that same year. The original three-storey hotel had a wrap-around veranda on the first two floors. According to the 1911 Canada census, Baron, a widower, lived in the hotel along with the porter, the bartender, and four domestics (chambermaids and waitresses). Baron built an addition onto the right side of his already roomy hotel due to increasing business. In January 1910, the first school classes in Biggar were held in the second storey of the hotel.