Kings Hotel is a heritage-listed former

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and now commercial premises located at 138–140

Pitt Street Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sec ...

, in the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...

, in the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

local government area of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was built from 1879. It is also known as Trickett's Hotel and Sugar House. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

Trade in sugar began within the first decades of settlement in Sydney. The site at 138–140 Pitt Street was for many years the city's first sugar exchange. In the late 1870s the present building was constructed as a hotel for a Sydney businessman, William Mears. It had four floors and sixteen rooms and was made of brick and shingle. It was first managed by Edward Trickett, a world champion sculler, and known as "Trickett's Hotel". It was later renamed "Kings Hotel". It was damaged by fire in April 1914, but reopened and operated as a hotel under that name until its closure on 30 June 1973. It was adapted to commercial use after its closure and renamed Sugar House, and has had a range of tenancies and fitouts since that time. It was operating as a bridal store in the 1980s, later operated as a

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

branch, and in 2018 is a Wittner Shoes store.

Description

138–140 Pitt Street has architectural, historic and aesthetic significance as one of the best and most intact surviving examples of a Victorian Italianate city hotel that is located in a prominent position with a strong streetscape value both in the immediate locality and when seen along King Street. The building is of particular significance for its surviving four corner tower and

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

, and as one of the distinctive landmark features of the locality. The building has fine Italianate detailing and is a very well designed building from the period. Its group value is related to the adjoining buildings in King Street and the buildings on the opposite corners fronting

Pitt Street Mall Pitt Street Mall is the pedestrianised section of Pitt Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian state of New South Wales. Running for approximately 200 metres between Market Street and King Street, it is one block long ...

, which make this intersection a key heritage precinct in the city. This building is part of a cohesive group of late 19th to early 20th century buildings and facades near the inter-section of Pitt and King Streets. The octagonal tower, capped with a domed cupola roof, forms a dramatic counterpoint to the nearby high rise buildings, and the building is a prominent corner landmark viewed from King Street against the backdrop of the

MLC Centre 25 Martin Place (formerly the MLC Centre) is a skyscraper in Sydney, Australia. Designed by architect Harry Seidler, it stands at a height of 228 metres (748 ft) with 67 storeys, and remains one of his most definitive works. The building ...

. The building has four storeys of masonry construction and has a recessed corner tower and projecting angled

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or r ...

s to levels 1 and 2, topped with decorative iron work as in the main

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. The building has excellent Victorian detailing, and is well designed and proportioned. The ground floor has been altered with new shopfronts (replaced several times) and new internal fitout. The upper floors retain much of their layout and detail but have been refitted with modern services including air conditioning and tower room. This building is one of the best surviving examples of the corner hotel buildings which were a familiar feature of the streetscape of Sydney's business centre in the rapid growth years of the 19th century. Its small but robust facades have exerted a striking dominance in Pitt and King Sts for more than a century. It is of particular streetscape importance to the view eastward along King St, from which point it provides the only visual relief amid the new high-rise buildings on the north side of King St.RNE, 1983

Heritage listing

Trickett's Hotel was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Attribution

{{Pubs in Sydney, state=collapsed New South Wales State Heritage Register Commercial buildings in New South Wales Defunct hotels in Sydney Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Hotel buildings completed in 1879 Pitt Street, Sydney Former pubs in Australia