Tunnel Cafe

Statement of Significance

Aesthetic Value: The place has interest as a elaborately detailed Federation Free Classical style of commercial building.
The place forms part of a group of commercial buildings and contributes to the historic character of the area.
Historic Value: The place reflects the expansion and development of residential and commercial buildings on the city fringes during the rapid population increase of the 1890's gold boom and the early years of the twentieth century.
Representativeness: The place is representative as an example of commercial building dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Physical Description

Two storey commercial building with battlemented parapet and smoothly finished material to street facades embellished with pilasters and decorative capitals. Awning not original.

History

C 1845 William Street extended north from Wellington Street to Ellen Street (now Newcastle Street) and was named Hutt Street. Although aligned with William Street to the south passage was not possible through Lake Kingsford to Hutt Street at the time. In 1873 the lakes were drained and in the late 1870s work began on the Fremantle to Guildford railway line with the Perth railway station constructed on the drained site of Lake Kingsford.

In the 1880s development of the street occurred. In the late 1880s Hutt Street was on the periphery of the town with few buildings. The gold rushes of the 1890s had a profound effect on the state's economy and Hutt Street was one of the many streets of Perth that was heavily developed as a result.

In 1897/8 Hutt Street was renamed William Street and by the turn of the century William Street south of Aberdeen Street was a busy commercial district. The construction of the Horseshoe Bridge in 1903 had a major impact on the role of William Street as an arterial road. A mixture of commercial, cultural and 'immoral' activities formed William Street's character. The present diverse social, cultural and commercial mix is a continuation of the character established around the turn of the century.

(Ref "William Street Conservation Plan: A Heritage Assessment and Conservation Policy for the Buildings on the Eastern Strip of William Street between Roe and Aberdeen Streets", Building Management Authority, November 1995, pp1-9.)

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium level of integrity.

Medium level of authenticity as it has lost original detail at ground floor level but intact above.

Condition

Poor

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.