hotel until 1987. In 1987, the hotel owed in taxes and was in "urgent need of renovations to bring it up to modern-day standards." During this time, the hotel was briefly owned by the City of Winnipeg, before being acquired in early 1988 by a company controlled by Quebec hotelier Raymond Malenfant. The company purchased the hotel for $1 million with the promise of spending $12 million to renovate it. The hotel reopened in mid-1988 with a black-tie soiree of 750 guests. In the 1990s, the hotel converted its two ballrooms into a provincial government-run casino, called the Crystal Casino. The casino only operated for approximately 10 years, as the hotel's owners urged the government to remove it. In 2009, the hotel came under new ownership and was rebranded as the Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre. In August 2020, The Fort Garry became part of Choice Hotels' Ascend Collection, under managing partners Richard Bel and Ida Albo, along with the Laberge Group out of Quebec City. Folklore According to local folklore, the hotel (specifically room 202) is haunted by a female spirit. A woman apparently committed suicide in the room many years ago after hearing of the death of her husband in a car accident. Overcome with grief, she hanged herself in the closet. CNR Radio The Fort Garry Hotel was the site of the Winnipeg studio of CNR Radio, the precursor to CBC Radio, between 1923 and 1932, using the original CKY transmitter on 665 kHz, moving to 780 kHz in 1925. CNR purchased time on stations they did not own, called "phantom" stations. See also Ida Albo, managing partner Fort Garry References External links Official Site Emporis Listing Canadian National Railway hotels Grand Trunk Pacific Railway hotels Hotels in Manitoba Hotels established in 1913 Hotel buildings completed in 1913 Buildings and structures in downtown Winnipeg Châteauesque architecture in Canada Ross and Macdonald buildings National Historic Sites in Manitoba Hotels on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Municipal Historical Resources of Winnipeg Reportedly haunted locations in Winnipeg 1913 establishments in Manitoba Tourism in Winnipeg