The People's Palace is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

building and a former

temperance hotel A coffee palace was an often large and elaborate residential hotel that did not serve alcohol, most of which were built in Australia in the late 19th century. A modest temperance hotel was opened in 1826 by activist Gerrit Smith in his hometo ...

in the

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is also colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD", "the city", or simply "to ...

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of Greater Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. The LGAs in the other mainland state capitals ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It is located at 308 Edward Street on the southern corner with Ann Street, diagonally opposite to Brisbane's Central Railway Station. It was designed by Colonel Saunders and built from 1910 to 1911. It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

Commandant Herbert Booth of the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

first proposed a People's Palace for Brisbane in July 1899, following the success of the People's Palace in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. However, the original vision was for intended as a refuge or shelter accommodation. The People's Palace was built in 1910–1911 by the Salvation Army as a temperance hotel to provide inexpensive "

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

" accommodation for travellers. It was designed by the Lieutenant-Colonel Saunders, the Salvation Army's architect and secretary for property affairs. It was situated across the road from the Temperance Hall operated by the

Brisbane Total Abstinence Society Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The People's Palace comprised three floors of accommodation with 130 rooms, a service basement and a rooftop garden. Construction commenced in March 1910 under Saunders' personal supervision. The concept of temperance hotels grew out of the temperance movement and the Peoples Palace was the first of its type in Queensland. No alcohol, gambling or "other evils" were permitted on the premises. Although not quite complete, the hotel was decorated with bright flags and hangings to celebrate Coronation Day (22 June 1911), the coronation of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. The hotel was officially opened on 27 June 1911. It was under the control of Major Wilson assisted by Ensign John McLean. It was popular with travellers to Brisbane due to its convenient location to the Brisbane's Central railway station. The building also was the Queensland headquarters for the Social Wing of the Salvation Army. In 1913 extensions were undertaken which involved adding an extra two storeys. This created a building of such height that special fire safety measured were imposed. Despite this, many years later, to meet modern fire standards, a set of brick fire stairs had to be added. In 1929, the Canberra Temperance Hotel operated by the Queensland Prohibition League (later the Queensland Temperance League) opened on the site of the old Temperance Hall. In the early morning of Thursday 20 January 1938, an electrical wire started a fire and burned out the upper storey. Fortunately the damage was covered by insurance. Renovations and internal re-arrangements continued over the decades as uses and priorities changed. The building operated as a temperance hotel until 1979. After that, it was leased out as budget accommodation and then used as

offices. As at July 2021, it was owned by Yamaji Australia Development (a Japanese property company) and leased to Tourism Adventure Group who operated it as a youth hostel.

Description

This large

Federation style Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the British colonies of Australia collectively became the Commonw ...

building is a predominantly red brick structure with painted cement rendered trimmings, decorative cast-iron work, and a corner tower. The plan form is that of a hollow rectangle, with the central opening providing light and air to the rooms. It comprises five storeys plus a basement, and additions above the roof line, it has continuous

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

hs on three levels, while the fourth has a steeply pitched roof with red tiles in a diamond pattern punctuated by

dormer window A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable spac ...

s. The roof level comprises a steeply pitched roof with red tiles arranged in a diamond pattern and dormer windows. The corner octagonal

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, marking the main entrance, has a bell-shaped roof with small dormers in each roof segment. Adjacent to the tower is a polygonal brick lift tower. The verandah's feature decorative

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

balustrades A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

and

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

s with timber posts and

handrails A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are commonly used while ascending or descending stairways and escalators in order ...

. The semi-circular arched and circular windows to the tower have cream painted cement render dressings to contrast with the red brick. Internally the rectangular

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

has been divided into two by the insertion of a modern brick fire stair. The

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...

with

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

remains above the basement dining saloon in the northern courtyard. This is now used as office space but its original entry doors remain.

Pressed metal ceiling A tin ceiling is an architectural element, consisting of a ceiling finished with tinplate with designs pressed into them, that was very popular in Victorian buildings in North America in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were also popu ...

s remain in many sections of the building. The upper levels have not been refurbished, but the partitioning of the lower levels is not original. The original

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

with its sliding doors, timber panelling and surrounding stairwell remains beside the entry

foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, entryway, reception area or entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cine ...

. Its very distinctive appearance derives from the extensive use of decorative cast iron work for the

of its

verandah A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

s and from the contrast of the cream-coloured render against the

red brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

on the upper part of the tower. Being situated on a hill on a busy intersection, it is one of Brisbane's most recognisable buildings.

Heritage listing

People's Palace was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. The Peoples Palace is significant as a rare example of a purpose built temperance hotel, it demonstrates rare and uncommon aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The building demonstrates the principal characteristics of a Federation building. The Peoples Palace is important in exhibiting aesthetic characteristics valued by the community in particular, it is a fine example of a Federation brick and render building with the corner entry tower and decorative cast-iron work on the verandahs. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. The Peoples Palace is important in exhibiting aesthetic characteristics valued by the community in particular, it is a fine example of a Federation brick and render building with the corner entry tower and decorative cast-iron work on the verandahs. The Peoples Palace is significant as a prominent landmark on the corner of Ann and Edward Street with its corner tower being one of a series along Ann Street. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. The building is important for as it has special association with the work of the Salvation Army since 1911, an organisation of importance in Queensland's history.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Commons category, People's Palace, Brisbane
The People's Palace
– John Oxley Library Blog, State Library of Queensland Queensland Heritage Register History of Brisbane Hotels in Brisbane Heritage-listed hotels in Queensland Hotel buildings completed in 1911 1911 establishments in Australia Ann Street, Brisbane Edward Street, Brisbane Temperance movement Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Hotels in Australia Coffeehouses and cafés in Australia Temperance movement in Australia Federation style architecture