Located on the East side of Pitt Street between First & Second Streets (where the new Arts Centre is being built) the Rossmore House was erected by J. George Ross in 1878. Ross had previously operated the Palace Hotel in Morrisburg and later the Ottawa Hotel in Cornwall. George Ross and his son John E. Ross, operated the Rossmore House as Cornwall’s leading hotel. The Rossmore sported marble floors, several fireplaces, and chandeliers (either gas or electric depending on which source of light happened to be working at the moment). It had four parlours, a large dining room with seating for 200, and a commodious bar — all built around a light shaft in the centre of the building. The 62 bedrooms were richly carpeted. There were 10 sample rooms for commercial travelers to display their wares. The rear annex of the hotel extended onto Second Street East. (Notice the two women sitting in the open window on the second floor — they were probably staff.) The large store windows to the right were part of a Drug Store.