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Windsor Hotel Annexe, 137 Spring Street, Melbourne

Butler, Graeme1985
Archives
Title:
Windsor Hotel Annexe, 137 Spring Street, Melbourne
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 108983 1
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
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:__________________________________________________Period: Post-WarConstruction date: 1961Architects: Morris & Partners.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 76,p52_________________________________________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 76In 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 existingbuilding in scale, and is subdued in exterior treatment to highlight the grandeur of the Windsor. At this time some internal renovations werecarried 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 acquisitionby the Victorian Government does not detract from this role.The new wing is of a similar scale to the earlier Old White Hart Hotel and it 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 ofcoursework 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 shouldoccur within the framework of the existing fenestration._________________________________________VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY H7822-1684Sold at fifth land sale 1839, Block 9, Allotments 11 &10, P Campbell. 1850 - building on site. 1855 - Bush Inn. 1888 -five buildings, The Grand Hotel, White Hart Hotel (formerly Bush Inn), also four shops and wireworkers. 1905 - five storey hotel, The Grand Hotel._________________________________________TRETHOWAN ARCHITECTURE, 2015. BOURKE HILL PRECINCT HERITAGE REVIEWSpring Street features on Robert Hoddle's grid plan of 1837. In 1847 Samuel Halfpenny opened the original two storeyOld White Hart Hotel. By 1871 the Old White Hart was altered and enlarged to three storeys. By 1884 thebuilding received another storey. In 1920 Melbourne Hotels Ltd (Chairman Sir John Monash) purchased the hoteland renovated it to serve as an annex to the main Windsor Hotel. The current building was constructed in 1958to a design by Norris and Partners. In 1995 a Hard Rock Café opened…Social significance associated with the hotel only. Although the building has no architectural merit in its own right,it does form part of the hotel's history. As a collective the hotel forms part of and greatly contributes to a uniqueand architecturally valuable streetscape that includes Parliament House, the Old Treasury and the PrincessTheatre..RecommendationBuilding to be ungraded within the precinct.
Record types:
Research and reports
Record number:
1263206
TypeReference No.ExtentStatus/Desc
Original108983 11 JPEG : 542 KB ; A4Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced)
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