New Albury Hotel is a heritage-listed

Australian pub An Australian pub or hotel is a public house or pub for short, in Australia, and is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. They may also provide other services, such as entertainment, meals and ...

at 491 Kiewa Street,

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

City of Albury The City of Albury is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The area covers to the north of the Murray River. The area extends around east and west along the river from the ...

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 designed by W. H. Merritt and built from 1939 to 1939 by Snider Constructions. It is also known as Hotel Albury. 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

The hotel was designed in 1939 by W. H. Merritt, an architect and engineer from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. It was built for the Richmond N. S. Brewing Company Pty. Limited. When first built it was named the Hotel Albury but later it became known as the New Albury Hotel. Snider Constructions was the builder and the estimated cost was 25,000 pounds.

Description

The building is a five-storey framed structure faced in cream bricks on three sides with red bricks at the rear. The front

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

has a cantilevered

veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

h at street level and concrete balconies with a white rendered finish above. It is well detailed, well maintained and in original condition. Important exterior details include the rounded corner windows and the horizontal banding effect created by the balconies and cream brick

spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...

s. The building is in original condition, except for new metal fire stairs.

Heritage listing

Built in 1939, the New Albury Hotel is considered to be an excellent example of the international style, well detailed, well maintained and in excellent condition. Similar public buildings, derived from the teachings of

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

, survive in most of the capital cities, but they are exceedingly rare in country towns. This building is significant for its rarity as an example of Bauhaus / International style outside the great cities. It is an important focal building in the centre of Albury and within the designated conservation area. Being five stories high, it is the first "high rise" building in Albury, and thus dominant in the streetscape. The state heritage listing states that its dominance should be retained over any future developments in the area. New Albury Hotel was listed on the

on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. Being five stories high, it is the first "high rise" building in Albury, and thus dominant in the streetscape. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. Similar public buildings, derived from the teachings of Bauhaus, survive in most of the capital cities, but they are exceedingly rare in country towns. This building is significant for its rarity as an example of Bauhaus / International style outside the great cities.

References

Bibliography

Attribution

External links

* *{{cite AV media, url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/phunnyfotos/6229442402, title=New Albury Hotel, author=phunnyfotos, date=September 2011, work=

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

New South Wales State Heritage Register Albury, New South Wales Pubs in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Bauhaus