The Prince of Wales Hotel stands above Upper Waterton Lake in Waterton Park, Alberta, within Waterton Lakes National Park and the wider Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Built in 1926 and 1927 for the Great Northern Railway of the United States, it opened in July 1927 to attract American visitors during Prohibition. Designed by Thomas D. McMahon with strong input from Louis W. Hill, it is one of Canada’s grand railway hotels and the only one of that type commissioned by a U.S.-based company. Its Rustic and Swiss chalet design, dramatic lakeside setting, and survival near a major 2017 fire underscore its historic significance, recognized in 1992 as a National Historic Site of Canada.