Esplanade Hotel, Albany facts for kids
The Esplanade Hotel was a famous hotel in Albany, Western Australia. It used to stand proudly overlooking Middleton Beach. In January 2007, the hotel was taken down by its owners from Singapore. They planned to build a new, modern hotel with many rooms, shops, and fun facilities. Even though the city of Albany approved these plans, the land was still empty in 2015.
Contents
A Look Back: The Hotel's Story
The very first hotel on this spot was built in 1898. Over the years, a few different hotels were built there. In 1908, a sad event happened: the hotel caught fire and burned down completely. An investigation was held to find out why, but no one could figure out how the fire started.
A brand new hotel was then built and opened in April 1911. This new building was very modern for its time! It had cool features like hot water, electric bells, and even telephones.
The Last Esplanade Hotel
The final hotel on the site was built by a businessman named Paul Terry in 1991. Sadly, Paul Terry died in a helicopter accident in Hawaii in 1993. After his death, the hotel was no longer managed by his family and was eventually sold.
Plans for a New Hotel
The hotel was demolished in 2007. The idea was to build a new hotel, along with a village square, health facilities, and event spaces. An architect named Morris Nunn and a planning expert, David Caddy, were hired to design the new hotel. They planned to work with a big international hotel company.
However, money problems came up because of the global financial crisis that started around 2007. This caused the project to be delayed. In 2008, Albany's Mayor, Milton Evans, said that the plans for the new hotel were still on track. But in 2010, the owners put the empty land, which was about 13,171 square meters (15,750 sq yd), up for sale for AUD$15 million.
Community Protests
Local people were not happy that the land stayed empty for so long. They thought the vacant site looked ugly. To show their feelings, they started some creative protests:
- A large, handmade sign was stitched onto the fence around the empty land. It was removed after three days.
- Next, people hung neckties on the fence. This protest was also quickly taken down.
- In 2010, protesters held a "sock protest." They hung thousands of socks along the fence! These socks were later removed because the real estate agent wanted the land to look better for potential buyers.
Government Steps In
In 2013, the Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett, warned that the government might take back the land. The site had been empty for too long, and Albany needed more places for people to stay.
Finally, in 2014, the state government bought the land for AUD$7 million. Part of the money, AUD$3.3 million, came from a special program called Royalties for Regions.
