The Imperial Hotel on Wellington Street, Perth (WA) was a prominent, multi-storey building first completed in 1898.

Located opposite Perth’s central railway station, it was described in 1889 as a “handsome ornament” to the area during the Gold Boom era. The Melbourne Weekly Times reported on September 10, 1898:

“The Hotel Imperial is one of the finest structures in Perth and is a most handsome ornament to its locality. It is exposed in Wellington street facing the central railway station, and a fine view of Perth is to be obtained from its upper windows..”

Sadly the original Imperial was demolished in 1929 and replaced with this five storey hotel by the Swan Brewery in 1930. It served as a major, multi-story hotel in central Perth for 60 years before it too was demolished in 1990 and replaced by the Forrest Chase complex.

The following story detailing the completion of the new Imperial was published in the Perth Sunday Times on September 21, 1930.

Perth’s new palatial hotel

Features of the New Imperial Disclosed!

During recent years Perth hotels have greatly improved and the Capital of the Western State now possesses some of the finest houses in Australia. Travellers from overseas declare that for comfort and homeliness the principal hotels are hard to excel during one’s travels. The Royal Agricultural Show next month will attract many thousands to the city, and visitors fortunate enough to secure accommodation at Perth’s latest hotel–the New Imperial-will find that greater comfort and attention awaiting them. Every modern device has been installed and the fitting up of this magnificent hotel at a cost of £60,000 makes it the leading hotel in Western Australia. Facing the Perth Railway Station, it is convenient to all other centres, the G.P.O., theatres, trams, river, etc., being in close proximity, and it is indeed the ideal home from home and makes a great appeal to country visitors.

Imperial Hotel, built on the site of the old building of that name in Wellington-street, marks a great stride forward in modern hotel construction for Perth.

The stately front of five stories featured in modern renaissance stands out in bold relief to the older type of buildings surrounding it and has a most imposing appearance, being suit-ably placed in that busy thoroughfare close to the central railway station.

The projecting wrought iron balconettes on each of the four upper floors and the heavy cornice moulding surmounting the top of the building nearly eighty feet above the steet level, gives a massive effect, whilst the green painted louvred window shutters on a back-ground of creamy colored stucco wall relieved by ornamental cement work gives a very pleasing effect, helped materially by a color scheme on glazed tiled wall under an imposing awning ornamented with steel.

FIREPROOF THROUGHOUT.

Construction is of steel with rein-forced concrete foundation floors, walls and stairs, with steel casement windows and doors, which renders the structure as near fireproof as is practicable. Including basement, there are six main stories with an additional rear portion for staff quarters.

The basement is the largest in Perth and in addition to housing a most complete refrigerating plant, hot water boilers (which provide hot water at all hours), and sewerage, provides splendid accommodation. This ample basement is well lighted and completely covered with granolithic flooring.

UNEQUALLED PUBLIC BAR.

There are two latest type electric elevators, one for passengers and the other for general service use, each ex-tending from basement to fifth floor.

The ground floor has divided street entrance for bars and hotel entrance. The public bar is conspicuous by its length and appointment. The bar counter with its handsome tiled front and rubber metal edged top, has a total length of over one hundred (100) feet, the longest in W.A., and is fitted with 7 glass washers, ice chest, ice bins and hot and cold water. The surrounding walls are tiled to a height of five feet in colors harmonising with the colored Terrazzo floor, all lending to cleanliness and neatness.

The saloon bar impresses one with its handsome jarrah panelled walls, panelled counter front and mirrored fittings. The natural lighting is excel-lent and the whole of the appointments in every respect up to date. Sanitation has been well maintained and the surface of floor behind this and the public bar is covered with Val de Travers with ample waste water discharge.

JARRAHA FEATURE.

The main hotel entrance is tiled in keeping with front elevation and leads through bar plate glass swing doors to a Terrazzo floored vestibule. Here again one meets the elegantly jarrah panelled walls extending past a neatly tucked away inquiry office, to marble steps leading in one direction to public telephone cabinets and in other direction on both sides of marble stairs up to first floor lounge and dining-room.

From the front First Floor landing one enters a spacious lounge with nicely enriched fibre plaster celling and pilasters, jarrah panelled dado walls and jarrah parquetry floor, the whole being in harmony with a restful air pervading. From this lounge access is given to office, external balconette, dining-room, manager’s room, retiring room for ladies and gentlemen, telephone cabinets and from lounge extensions giving approach to dining room. There is also the necessary cloak and writing room.

WELL VENTILATED DINING ROOM.

The dining-room is well proportioned being 60 feet by 30 feet and is well appointed. Cutlery, crockery, linen, furniture is all new and of latest design in keeping with the hotel generally. The jarrah parquetry floor matches the panelled jarrah dado. The enriched pilasters support a well balanced panelled fibre ceiling with well developed beam effect. Ranged along each side wall are handsome steel window casements and special inlet ornamental ventilators. It is a spacious room ideal for visitors and a splendid meeting place for , business men, and can comfortably seat 120 people. There is an excellent buffet attached.

Access to kitchen is through two wired, plate-glass swing doors, and one’s first thought is light, space and cleanliness. The appointments are in every respect very modern and complete, and after inspection one can readily relish meals cooked under such ideal conditions. The total space occupied is 50 feet by 30 feet, and the several departments of the culinary art are ranged round a central group of actual gas cooking aparatus.

The huge gas cooking range is the latest of its kind, alongside which is placed a combined hot closet, carving table and Bain Marie, next a gas griller and stock pot, all grouped together and covered by a wrought iron framed canopy glazed with wired plate glass, and fitted with exhaust fines conveying all steam and cooking odor through a specially designed flue through the floors above and finding outlet above the main roof. It is claimed that the kitchen Is unequal-led throughout Australia, and lt ls an eye-opener to realise the wonderful hygienic conditions prevailing. Adjacent to the cooker is the refrigerating chamber, one large, one for carcase meats and two smaller ones for milk, butter, cheese and other perishable articles of food.

Ranged around the inner kitchen are placed the various sinks, some copper, others cast iron enamelled or fireclay, and so placed as to facilitate systematic and cleanly handling. Specially enclosed space for pastry, larder and stores completes the equipment, and all stores are readily handled from the service lift centrally placed in the kitchen.

SUPERB BEDROOM SUITES.

The three upper floors are devoted entirely to bedrooms for visitors and, of course, the attendant bath and lavatory provision, and also for housemaids, linen, baggage, etc. On each floor are 23 bedrooms, but a unique provision exists for bedroom suites, comprising double bedroom, sitting-room with access to front balconette, separate bath and lavatory. There are two such suites on each of the three floors. This arrangement should be very popular with a certain section of the travelling public.

All the bathrooms, four for ladies and three for gentlemen, on each of the three floors, are well appointed, having Terrazzo floors, enamel baths, and tiled walls, hot and cold water, and showers, the hot water being available at all hours. For the gentlemen there is also a separate shower enclosure on each floor. The lavatory provision is ample, each being Terrazzo floored, with tiled walls and all wood-work white enamelled. The whole of the corridors and stairways leading to these bedroom floors have Lincrusta Walton dadoes, and all the rooms are well lighted and airy. Another useful provision is communicating doors between each of two rooms on each bed-room floor to permit of their joint use as family rooms.

The building is adequately electric-ally lighted, and every necessary point well illuminated, there being a total of 400 electric points, with provision for heating in many rooms, and fans in bars, lounge, and dining-room.

The hot water installation is complete, and provides for hot and cold water to every bedroom and lavatory basin throughout the building, numbering 96 points in all, and to 25 baths, besides numerous points in kitchen, housemaids’ rooms, and bars, and from a domestic point of view it is all that can reasonably be required.

A MINIATURE EXCHANGE.

The telephone service is another marked feature. There are close on 80 phones in the building. Every bedroom has a separate telephone, those to suites are bedside phones, others are wall phones. In each bed-room corridor there is a telephone, also in kitchen, bar office, and the five public cabinets.

The management aims to please the public, and in so far as the construction and equipment of the building is concerned, they have every facility at their disposal.

The structure has been erected for the Swan Brewery Company, Limited, at a cost of £60,000, by Messrs. Todd Bros., to the design and plans prepared by Messrs. Hobbs, Smith and Forbes, and the finished building is a credit to their skill and thought, and a decided asset to the travelling public, for within a few minutes after arrival at Perth Central, visitors making the Imperial Hotel their temporary residence, can be enjoying relaxation and com-fort at Perth’s newest hotel. Show visitors should make early application for rooms in order to avoid disappointment, and Mr. Deykih, manager, will be pleased to attend to requirements without delay.

_{* Pictures: Perth Sunday Times, September 21, 1930 and the Melbourne Weekly Times, September 10, 1898 . Both images enhanced and coloured with AI technology.}

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Categories: Perth Hotels, Western Australia hotels

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