Palace Hotel, Perth
| Palace Hotel | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Status | Partially demolished |
| Location | 108 St Georges Terrace Perth, Western Australia 6000 |
| Coordinates | 31°57′16.4″S 115°51′24.4″E / 31.954556°S 115.856778°ECoordinates: 31°57′16.4″S 115°51′24.4″E / 31.954556°S 115.856778°E |
| Completed | 1897 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Ernest Saunders Porter Edmond Neville Thomas |
The Palace Hotel in Perth, Western Australia is a landmark three-storey heritage listed building located in the city's central business district. Originally built in 1897 as a hotel during the gold rush period of Western Australia's history, it was converted to banking chambers and offices in the 1980s and now accommodates the Perth headquarters of Woods Bagot. The building is located on the most prominent intersection in the financial district of the city, at the corner of St Georges Terrace and William Street.
When the hotel opened for business on 18 March 1897 it was, although slightly smaller than some of its contemporary buildings in other capital cities in Australasia, described as "... one of the most beautiful and elegant hotels in Australasia". Other praise included: "... redolent of the bourgeois luxury and splendour of the Paris of Napoleon III" and later "... in its day, as sumptuous a hostelry as any in Melbourne or Sydney." It operated as licensed premises from 1897 until 1981.
The building is described as being of a "Federation Free Classical" architectural style. It is three storeys high and of brick and iron construction. It was designed by architects Porter and Thomas and built by prominent mining entrepreneur and real-estate investor John De Baun at a cost of £64,000.
In 1973, a public lobby group known as The Palace Guards was formed to push state planning authorities for the preservation of the building. The building was entered into the register of the National Trust of Australia in June 1973 and elevated to a permanent entry in 1980 "as a first-class example of the quality of building at the time of the gold rush".
In the period leading up to and during the 1980s redevelopment, lobbying from The Palace Guards, the National Trust of Western Australia and the public at large pushed for the retention of some elements of the original building. In 1990, legislation enforcing compliance with heritage preservation orders was enacted and the site became the subject of the first heritage agreement in the State. It was recorded as a permanent entry in the state heritage register at the Heritage Council of Western Australia in May 2000.
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