Grand Hotel & Coffee Palace, later Windsor Hotel, 103-137 Spring Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Title:
Grand Hotel & Coffee Palace, later Windsor Hotel, 103-137 Spring Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 108983
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2023:__________________________________________________DATE: 1883-4, 1887-8...;ASSOCIATIONS: Nipper & Lee 1884;Grand Hotel Company 1888;DESIGNER: Webb, Charles 1884; Webb, Charles & Sons 1888;BUILDER: Thomas Cockram & Company 1883-4; Butler, Charles 1887-8Period: Late Victorian.VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H0764What is significant?Construction of the Hotel Windsor commenced in 1883 for George Nipper of the shipping firm Nipper and See. Designed by Charles Webb and built by Thomas Cockram and Company, it was originally known as the Grand Hotel. The building was extended and became known as the Grand Coffee Palace in time to accommodate visitors to the Centenary Exhibition of 1888. It was re-named the Windsor Hotel in 1920.The Grand Coffee Palace Company Limited, headed by James Munro and James Balfour, was formed to purchase the Grand Hotel and convert it into a temperance hotel in 1886. Renamed the Grand Coffee Palace, liquor was banned from the premises and the hotel became the flagship of the temperance movement. James Munro, Premier of Victoria in 1890, and James Balfour, who entered parliament in 1866, were both well known leaders in the temperance movement in Victoria.The original section of the hotel was built on the corner of Spring and Little Collins Streets in a Renaissance Revival style. The main Spring Street facade was symmetrical, with a five-storey central section containing three arcaded lower levels, flanked by six-storey corner towers. In 1887-88 the building was extended to the north along Spring Street, by the same architect, Charles Webb. A symmetrical facade was again achieved with the duplication of the existing facade and the addition of a central entrance bay. Mansard roofs were added to the central towers flanking the entrance, providing a French Renaissance character, and a stone sculpture was installed above a segmental pediment of the main entrance. Attributed to John Simpson Mackennal, who also worked on the interior and exterior decoration of Parliament House, the sculpture of 'Peace and Plenty' incorporates two reclining figures and a central shield containing the English and Australian Coat of Arms.In 1897 an application was made to remove the prohibition of alcohol and change the name back to the Grand Hotel. In 1920 a new company, Melbourne Hotels Limited, was formed with the chairman, Sir John Monash. This company purchased the Grand Hotel and the adjoining Old White Hart Hotel to the north, which became an annexe to the Grand. Sydney architects Robertson and Marks, in conjunction with Henry H Kemp of Melbourne, undertook major refurbishments to both buildings, and the whole complex was renamed the Windsor Hotel.Further alterations were made to the buildings in the 1940s and 1950s, and in 1961 the Old White Hart Hotel annexe was demolished and replaced with a new annexe building designed by Harry A. Norris.The Hotel Windsor was bought by the Victorian Government in 1976 due to the threat of demolition and has been in private ownership since 1990.How is it significant?The Windsor Hotel is of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?The Hotel Windsor is of architectural significance as the only surviving illustrative example of the opulent style adopted for a nineteenth century luxury hotel in Melbourne in the 1880s. When constructed it was one of the largest and grandest hotels in Victoria.The Hotel Windsor is of architectural significance as one of the finest, although unusual, examples of Charles Webb's work. Over more than thirty years in practice, Webb produced a substantial number of important buildings, focussing on ecclesiastical, institutional and domestic work. The Windsor Hotel is the largest of his relatively few commercial commissions.The Hotel Windsor is of historical significance for its association with the temperance movement in Victoria, in particular with the well known leaders, James Munro and James Balfour. The conversion of the building to a coffee palace in the late 1880s reflects the strong values held by the movement, and the opulence of the building illustrates the mores of society at the time, with the combination of lavish speculation and a display of temperance..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites 76, Page 52_________________________________________NIGEL LEWIS DECEMBER 1976, HISTORIC AND ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY OF THE CENTRAL CITY OF MELBOURNE BOURKE STREET, EAST AREA 8 OF THE SURVEY COMMISSIONED BY THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS PRESERVATION COUNCIL source 76HOTEL WINDSORM33 L34103-137 Spring StreetThe section from Little Collins Street to approximately the present main entrance was constructed by Thomas Cockram to the design of Charles Webb in 1883-84. 1 The Grand Hotel was erected for George Nipper. The building was sold on 17th May 1886 to a group headed by James Munro, who burnt the licence, and the building was run as a temperance hotel. In 1888 the building was doubled in size, the design being Charles Webb and Sons, and completed by June 3. The additions gave the building its solid proportions and impressive entrance. The extensions were made to accommodate the influx of visitors for the Great Centennial Exhibition.The Grand continued as a Temperance Hotel, though abstinence was not strictly observed, until 1920, when was bought by a company headed by Sir John Monash. It was renamed the Windsor as a patriotic gesture to the Royal Family, a licence obtained and the building was redecorated, much of this surviving today.In 1961 the Old White Hart Hotel which completed the Spring Street block to Bourke Street was demolished and the new wing erected. This building was designed by Norris and Partners to harmonise with the existing building in scale, and is subdued exterior treatment to highlight the grandeur of the Windsor. At this time some internal renovations were carried out in the old part, including the entrance lobby, where cast iron columns were removed.RECOMMENDATION:As the last grand hotel in Australia, the Windsor Hotel's place on the Historic Buildings Register is unquestioned. It is important that its acquisition by the Victorian Government does not detract from this role. The new wing is of a similar scale the earlier Old White Hart Hotel and could be thus argued that it does not detract significantly from the streetscape. Its lines are however rather severe and the fenestration of the upper floors is completely out of character. The representation of coursework on the ground floor does form a sympathetic streetscape element, particularly at pavement level. This should be maintained in the event of the corner becoming an entrance to the underground loop as has been suggested. All new openings should occur within the framework of the existing fenestration._________________________________________LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Records72541 Webb, C; Nipper & Lee Melbourne VIC Hotels Cockram, T & Co - 8 O'connell St Hotham 1883 02 2 161, MCC registration no 161 [Burchett Index]. Fee 6.0.0hotel Spring near cnr Spring & Little Collins73178 Webb, C; Nipper & Lee Melbourne VIC Hotels Cockram, Thos, & Co - 8 O'Connell St Hotham 1883 07 25 396 MCC registration no 396 [Burchett Index]. Fee 3.10.0additional buildings to hotel. Spring - hotel.17812 Webb, Charles; VIC Hotels 1886 2 13 Auction notice - extensivedescription of The Grand Hotel, with 120 ft. frontage to Spring St. Provision has been partly made within the present foundations & walls for the addition of 100 bedrooms etc.Argus 13.2.1886, p 273181 Webb, Charles; Grand Hotel Co Melbourne VIC Hotels Butler, Charles - Parkville 1887 05 18 2791, MCC registration no 2791 [Burchett Index]. Fee 3.10.0additions to hotel, Spring - Grand Hotel & Coffee Palace17813 Webb, Charles & Sons; VIC Hotels 1887 3 28, Chas. Webb & Sons. Tenders wanted for extension of Grand Hotel, Spring St., Melbourne. (275 additional rooms). Quantities supplied by Mr A. Anderson.Argus 28.3.1887, p 317815 Webb, C & Sons; VIC Hotels 1888 9 22, Charles Webb & Sons Illustration of the Grand Hotel, Spring, Little Collins Streets and Lang Lane.Illus, Building Engineering and Mining Journal 22.9.1888 Parish Plan 24017808 VIC Hotels; Interiors 1913 8 1 Description of recently redecorated room at the Grand Hotel, Melbourne, in the Moorish style, designed and executed by Mr W. Fulton.Illus: photograph. Australasian Decorator and Painter 1.8.1913, p 292_________________________________________
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 108983 | 1 PDF : 1,778 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |