Graham Hotel, former Town Hall Hotel site, 67-73 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Graham Hotel, former Town Hall Hotel site, 67-73 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 109266
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2023:__________________________________________________DATE: 1953-4;ASSOCIATIONS: Town Hall (Melbourne) Hotel Pty. Ltd;DESIGNER: Overend, Best;BUILDER: Prentice BuildersPeriod: Post-War.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites RAIA (Vic) 20th C. Architecture Register_________________________________________CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONShttps://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/60672/images/44777_349578-00202Card index starts 1921.….various works to hotel19535 June 27252 ₤366,000 New hotel building…May 1954 28276 ₤5000 Erection of shopfront …1992_________________________________________VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY H7822-1812First land sale, 1837, Block 5, Allotment 11, John Batman. Subdivisions and lanes by 1840. 1877 - two three-storey buildings; Town Hall Hotel, Anderson Warehouseman. 1888 - same; Town Hall Hotel, Bookshop, Sewing Machines. 1905 - same; Town Hall Hotel now in both buildings._________________________________________CROSS-SECTIONApril 1954All over Australia urban bldg is lazily awakening. The scene in Melbourne city, which only last year seemed condemned to bldg inactivity forever, has quite suddenly changed. After 14yrs almost without a new building, many major works are now actually under way & several more are in advanced planning. They are of many types, with the notable exception of rentable office investment. Below we begin to see the shape of new city design after the long hibernation. It is not exactly 14 yrs ahead of pre-war, but neither is it merely a return to where bldg left off. At least one project indicates heavily the new New York influence: a box of glass here doing its best to ignore the regulation set-backs which once were affected as a "sky-scraper" silhouette. Some incorporate experimental techniques. One breaks away from box & glass with a promising original form & a huge mural. If it is fair to judge from sketches, there will also be, in this midget boom, moments of awful ineptitude. But with few exceptions, the most remarkable thing about these bldgs & others about to start is the consistency of the arch.' approach, amounting almost to a new idiom of city design—wary, unprovoking, unexciting, but sounder than any popular movement of the past, an Australian-looking compromise with the glass envelope, a logical expansion to urban size & character of the generally more simple & rational post-war development in small suburban bldg. ¶ The following are under construction: I. Hosies' Hotel, Flinders-st. Cost: £365,410, Time: 17 mths. Arch't-Engn'rs: Mussen, Mackay & Potter. Bldr: E A Watts. 4 fls of fully air-conditioned public rms break back with a garden for guest fls. Reinf conc frame, alum'm windows & spandrels, ceramic veneer & travertine finishes. The mosaic mural may be the subject of a competition. 2. H C Sleigh Ltd HQ, Queen-st: £300,000; 17 mths Arch't-Engn'rs: Bates, Smart & McCutcheon. Bldrs: Hansen & Yuncken. Steel frame & hollow-block floors. 3. Town Hall Hotel, Swanston-st: £366,000; 12 mths. Arch't: Best Overend. Prentice Bldrs. A "luxury" finish, fully air-conditioned. Steel frame with structural terracotta & stainless steel facings & alum'm double glazing to combat noise. 4. Gilbert Court.…..March I, 1955University of Melbourne Department of Architecture, monthlyThe Graham Hotel reached a completed appearance . . the Ist of Melb's city-bldg boom (C-S Apr 54).Its little paired double-hung windows keep out Swanston-st's tram noises & perforate a lacklustre façade of stainless steel & ceramic blue. Its basement bar, with perimeter counter, has proved itself well adapted to the 6 o'clock swill. As in the new Hosie's bar, also now operating, it has a tiled floor, panelled walls & perforated-board ceiling. (Best Overend's office, arch'ts; Prentice Bldrs)_________________________________________NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1954The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)Monday 13 September 1954 - Page 9https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/248327930Gas blew up hotel, says QC Escaping gas probably caused the explosion which shattered the Town Hall Hotel, Swanston Street, City, in 1950 counsel claimed in the Practice Court today. Mr N. E. Burbank, QC, for the Town Hall (Melbourne) Hotel Pty. Ltd., was opposing an application made by Mr D. I. Menzies, QC, for the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria to have a damages action heard by a judge and jury. The explosion occurred on June 18, 1950. The hotel company is claiming unspecified damages from the Gas Corporation. It claims that the corporation was responsible for the escape of gas and that it was negligent.LONG TRIALMr Burbank said the trial would be long, with much scientific evidence, which might not be suit able for trial by jury. Mr Justice Gavan Duffy ordered that the trial be by a judge and jury of six. Since the writ has been issued, the hotel company has claimed it would cost about £50,000 to rebuild the section of the hotel damaged by the explosion. In the meantime, the Town Hall Hotel is being rebuilt under the name of The Graham..The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) Fri 17 Sep 1954 Page 13NEW HOTEL OPENS SOON'World class in miniature'THE Graham Hotel, being built on the pocket-handkerchief site of the old Town Hall Hotel, will- be a "world-class hotel in miniature."Accommodation for 42 guests will be provided in " single and double suites, each having a dressing room and private bathroom. The Town Hall building was wrecked by an explosion In 1950. It is being replaced by a fully air-conditioned and soundproofed hotel, fronted with stainless steel and glazed terra cotta — a change from original plans. The "bones" of the complete structure have al ready added a feature to Melbourne's skyline. The hotel will be completed early in the new year. Cost is estimated at £370.000, of which 42 percent, will be spent on equipment. Furnishings for the hotel, one of a chain being built or re modelled by Carlton and United Breweries Ltd., will bring the total to near £500.000. "First use" Mr R. P. G. Pogarty, general manager of Carl ton and United, said it would provide world-class comfort and service, de spite the limitations of the site. A Bavarian beer stein Inspired the colors being used for part of the Swanston Street facade of the hotel — deep cream, glazed terra cotta, with a dark blue surround. Aluminium window frames will be set in narrow, white marble trims.Architect Mr Best Overend said he believed the hotel provided the first example in Melbourne of use of glazed terra cotta as a structural material, instead of a mere facing. The hotel should retain its new appearance indefinitely with an occasional water wash. The purple color of stainless steel already in position was actually a plastic protection coat which would be removed when the building was completed. The site, in the heart of the busiest section of the city and measuring only 55ft. by 50ft., had set many problems. Suppression of traffic noise and the roar of machinery behind the hotel had called for much heavier construction than normal, and a great deal of acoustical work. All windows are being double-glazed with two different thicknesses of glass. Tiles will guard against "sympathetic" vibrations transmitted from the outer to the inner panes. There will be 12 floors, including a sub-basement, basement, and two mezzanines. To comply with building and licensing regulations, 10 entrances have had to be provided. Lift wells take up a good part of each floor. Mechanical equipment for the hotel and an electrical sub -station take the complete sub - basement floor. The main basement has a large public bar, lavatories and store rooms, plus a large unloading dock off the back lane. Other public and saloon bars are on the ground floor, plus a lounge and reception desk. One mezzanine floor is to be a cocktail lounge, with powder rooms, etc. Two floors provide for dining arrangements, and two for accommodation. Another is almost wholly needed for staff quarters. A lift tower, the size of t two-storey house, and maintenance shops 'are on the flat roof. This was "poured" a: month ago. Builders are Prentice Builders Pty. Ltd., of St. Kilda Rd., Melbourne._________________________________________
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1264004
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 109266 | 1 PDF : 1,243 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |