Harbour View Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Harbour View Hotel |
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Harbour View Hotel, pictured in 2019
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| Location | 18 Lower Fort Street, Millers Point, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1922–1923 |
| Architect | Prevost & Waterman |
| Architectural style(s) | Inter-war Free Classical |
| Official name: Harbour View Hotel and site | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 634 |
| Type | Hotel |
| Category | Commercial |
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The Harbour View Hotel is a special historic building located at 18 Lower Fort Street. You can find it in the inner-city Sydney area called Millers Point, within the City of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by architects Prevost & Waterman and built between 1922 and 1923. Today, it is privately owned. This hotel is so important that it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
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A Look Back: Hotel History
The very first Harbour View Hotel was built in 1843. It stood on the corner opposite where the current hotel is today. The land where the present hotel now stands used to have buildings called "Oliffe Terrace."
In 1913, the government took over both these areas. By 1922, the old terrace buildings were pulled down. The new hotel building, the one we see today, was finished by 1924.
The company Tooth and Co., a big brewing company, paid for the hotel's construction. They had a 50-year lease to run it. In 1927, the Sydney Harbour Trust took control of the land. Later, in 1936, the Maritime Services Board became the owner.
Some of the people who ran the hotel included William Ireland (from 1924 to 1941) and Gavin Miller (from 1941 to 1949). When the 50-year lease ended in 1971, the Maritime Services Board gave ownership back to Tooth & Co. Over time, fewer people visited the hotel. In 1998, it was sold again.
What the Hotel Looks Like
The Harbour View Hotel is a three-storey building made of strong stone and brick. It also has a basement and some older outdoor walls. The most noticeable part is the hotel building itself. It stands out on the curved corner of Lower Fort Street.
The hotel has a special design style called "Inter-war Free Classical." This means it looks like older, grand buildings but was built between the two World Wars. The front of the building, called the facade, has a curved middle section. This curved part helps the hotel fit perfectly on the corner.
You'll see pairs of double-hung windows on the front. These windows have frames that stick out a bit. There's also a deep, smooth band with a decorative top part called an entablature. This entablature has a semi-circular shape, like a half-circle, at the corner.
Below the awning (a cover over the entrance), the front of the hotel has shiny tiles. These tiles even have old signs on them for both streets. The part of the building facing the Sydney Harbour Bridge is two storeys high. It has an open deck and rooms at the back.
Inside, the ground floor has changed a lot over the years. The public and saloon bars were opened up to create one big room. The dining room is now used as a bistro. However, the upper floors still look much like they did when the hotel was first built.
Building Changes Over Time
The hotel has had several updates and repairs:
- 1923: General repairs were done.
- 1940: Changes were made to the ground floor bathroom and cellar.
- 1953: Major changes happened on the ground floor.
- 1986: More big changes were made to the ground floor.
- 1992: Further alterations were done to the ground floor.
Why This Hotel is Special
The Harbour View Hotel is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. This means it's considered very important to the history and culture of New South Wales. It was one of the few pubs built in the Millers Point area after land was cleared for the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
In an area with many trade and industrial businesses, hotels like this played a big role in people's social lives. The hotel's location is perfect, right at the south-western end of the Harbour Bridge. This reminds us how important meeting places were for people moving in and out of the city.
The hotel shows us what buildings were like for workers and residents in the early 1900s. Its design is a great example of the Inter-War period style. Most of its outside and inside features are still original. The way it curves around the corner with its brickwork makes it a strong and beautiful part of the street.
The glazed tiles with old signs on the lower part of the building are quite rare. Not many examples of such tiled signs are left in the city center.
A Link to History
The Harbour View Hotel is important because it connects us to the past. It continues the story of the earlier Harbour View Hotel and has been a key social place since the 1920s. It also shows how the Millers Point and Dawes Point areas changed when the Sydney Harbour Trust was formed.
The building of this hotel marked a new period of growth in the area. For many years, it was connected to Tooth & Co., a major company that owned many hotels across the state in the 20th century.
A Beautiful Design
The Harbour View Hotel is a wonderful example of an Inter-War Free Classical style hotel. It was designed and built very well. Not many buildings like it have survived in this area. The hotel was placed to offer great views of the harbour. It also stands out strongly on the sharp corner where it is located, making it a landmark in the area.
A Place for People
This hotel has been a major social spot in the area for over 70 years. Because it links back to the first Harbour View Hotel, it has provided a continuous place for people to meet and stay for more than 150 years. The hotel also reminds us of the big land changes that happened in the Millers Point and Dawes Point areas.
Learning from the Building
The Harbour View Hotel can teach us about building methods and architectural design from the 1920s. We can learn about how masonry (stone and brick) buildings were constructed back then. It also helps us understand what an inner-city hotel for working-class people was like.
A Rare Find
Within the Sydney area, the Harbour View Hotel is quite rare. Not many hotels with a similar design and construction have survived, especially in the Millers Point and Dawes Point areas. While some similar hotels exist in country towns, it's special to find one like this in the city.
A Great Example
The Harbour View Hotel is a good example of an Inter-War corner hotel. It shows the Free Classical style well and was built with great care and detail.
