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Article: The Part of Prince Rupert.
- Article from:
- Alaska Business Monthly
- Article date:
- April 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Alaska Business Publishing Company, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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East Coast railroad magnate Charles Melville Hays knew a good port when he spotted one, and in 1906 he staked out the western British Columbia community of Prince Rupert, its namesake being the first governor of the Hudson's Bay Co. Hays' vision was to use the deep, natural harbor he'd found in the wilderness just south of the Alaska Panhandle as an economic anchor for a grand city that would rival ports further south-such as San Francisco or Vancouver.
Hays worked quickly, completing the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway from Winnipeg, and employing a New York City firm to design and lay out the new city's street grid. Hays was a visionary who early in the century ...