Savoy Hotel, Perth
| Savoy Hotel | |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Gresham Hotel Savoy Plaza Hotel |
| General information | |
| Type | Hotel |
| Architectural style | Federation Free Classical |
| Location | 636-640 Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia |
| Coordinates | 31°57′15″S 115°51′34″E / 31.95416°S 115.85955°ECoordinates: 31°57′15″S 115°51′34″E / 31.95416°S 115.85955°E |
| Completed | 1914 |
| Owner | Timothy Quinlan, Bernard Connor, Michael O'Connor, Monica Hayes |
| Height | five storey |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Talbot Hobbs |
| Architecture firm | Hobbs, Smith & Forbes |
| Main contractor | C.W. Arnott |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | William G. Bennett |
The Savoy Hotel is a heritage-listed former hotel in Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia. It was built in the 1910s and closed in 1991. It is listed on the State Register of Historic Places, has been classified by the National Trust of Australia, and was listed on the former Register of the National Estate.
The site was originally occupied by a two storey hotel, the Shamrock Hotel, constructed in the 1840s. In 1845 the proprietor of the Shamrock Hotel Perth was Michael Henry Condron. In 1855 Condron invited Lomas Toovey to join him in ownership of the Shamrock Hotel and the following year the hotel was leased to Joseph Aloysius Lucas, who operated the hotel until his death in 1880. In 1883 Daniel Connor, a successful merchant and pastoralist (one of Perth's leading financiers and landholders), purchased the hotel from Lucas' widow, Jane Mary. Connor then leased it to Timothy Quinlan, who subsequently married Connor's daughter, Teresa. Connor died in 1898 and the hotel was transferred into the joint ownership of Quinlan, Michael O'Connor (Connor's eldest son and Quinlan's brother-in-law), Bernard Connor (Connor's third son) and Bernard's wife, Catherine. In 1891 Monica Haynes (Connor's third daughter) replaced Catherine as a joint tenant.
In November 1912 tenders were called for the development of a new Shamrock Hotel to the design of Perth architect, John Talbot Hobbs (of Hobbs, Smith and Forbes). The contract was let to prominent builder C. W. Arnott for £48,787. The building was later described as the future Gresham Hotel. Hobbs' design was for a five-storey hotel, which is said to have been the largest in Australia for some time. The building was demolished in 1913. In 1914 the name of the hotel was officially changed to the Savoy Hotel. In 1916 the hotel was advertised as "The Ritz of Australia". The Savoy also had a theatre at the back, which seated 1,500 patrons.
The Savoy Hotel continued operations between World Wars I and II, and in the 1930s part of the bottom of the hotel was given to retail. In April 1930 a fire broke out at the Savoy Hotel, severely damaging the roof, ceiling and fittings of the kitchen.
In October 1931 the Betts & Betts shoe store moved into the ground floor shops fronting Hay Street, previously occupied by Fisher Beard & Co.
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