(The Roof is now officially open after a brief delay in construction.)
No one is looking forward to the reopening of the Roof on the 15th floor of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on West Georgia Street as much as big band leader Dal Richards, who played the iconic room with his 11-piece orchestra from 1940 to 1965.
During an interview this week, Richards reminisced about a night in the 1940s, when a nightclub promoter managed to sneak a very famous actor and his horse into the room via the hotel’s freight elevator. At the time, the popular venue was called the Panorama Roof ballroom.
“Roy Rogers was performing at the Pantages Theatre and they wanted to stir up some publicity,” said the 96-year-old Richards. “So they arranged to have him and Trigger come up in the elevator for a photograph with me.”
Richards is very much looking forward to once again visiting the room, which closed in 1992 and reopens Feb. 14 for a limited time as the Roof Restaurant and Bar.
During a sneak peak of the room Monday evening, the setting sun filled the space with such gorgeous light that photographers and smartphone users snapped photo after photo in a quest to capture that one perfect moment in time.
And while the Roof was in the final stages of a renovation project, its potential was blatant with floor to ceiling windows flanking the north and south walls of the large space.
Richards said during the Second World War those windows, which on this night offered an expansive view of the city, ocean and sunset, were shuttered. “The view had to be blacked out so the Panorama Room had no panorama,” remembered Richards.
During Richards’ reign at the ballroom, the lineup of famous musical guests included Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Jack Benny. The band’s performances were also regularly broadcast nationally on CBC Radio.
“On a social level there’s been nothing like it,” said Richards.
Putting a modern twist on the vintage feel of the Roof is a new bar, which runs almost the entire length of the room and offers up some of the signature cocktails served at the height of the venue’s popularity, including the Moscow Mule.
A new modern menu created by Fairmont executive chef Cameron Ballendine includes a global take on ingredients sourced from across the province. Afternoon tea will also be served each day at the Roof.
Ballendine told the Courier he’s excited to see the Roof launched as a restaurant. The room was previously only open during special events, such as weddings and, of course, Richards’ 95th birthday celebration in 2013. Later the chef told the small crowd gathered it’s been interesting learning how to create classic dishes from the 1940s and 1950s.
“Because I wasn’t around at the time,” said Ballendine, who added he used to think how amazing it would be to one day become chef of the Roof. “And here I am.”
The executive chef said he’d like to see the venue opened permanently. For now the “pop up” concept will see the room open from Feb. 14 through the summer.
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver general manager Michael Pye told the crowd while many set the groundwork before him, it’s his pleasure to be in place to see the Roof reopen. He added so many memories have been made at the Roof, it will be exciting to see what this next chapter brings.
“And it’s opening Valentine’s Day as a love affair to this city,” said Pye.
