Metropole Hotel

Statement of Significance

Metropole Hotel has aesthetic value as a good representative example of the Federation Filigree style common in the Australian pub tradition as a two-storey hotel with verandahs, located on a prominent street corner.

Metropole Hotel is aesthetically linked to the Albion Shamrock Hotel, Tattersall's Hotel, and the Grand Hotel in Burt Street, with its parapet and verandahs that extend over the pavement.

The building is an important element of the streetscape of Burt Street, enhanced by the verandah and balcony which extend over the pavement.

Metropole Hotel has historic value as a demonstration of the development that occurred in Boulder around the turn-of-the-century as it became the service centre of the district.

Metropole Hotel is significant for its continuity of use.

Physical Description

An asymmetrical two-storey corner building, built to the street alignment, in the Federation Filigree Style (Apperly et al, 1989). The building has a verandah and balcony that wrap the facades and extend over the pavement. The exterior features a low tower and a parapeted gable with a non-pointed apex. Contrasting colours and textures have been used

History

Documentary Evidence: The building was established as a hotel and continues to be used as a hotel.

The Insurance Plans for Boulder c. 1900 illustrate Lot 61 as having the Metropole Hotel and two shops (facing Burt Street) constructed of brick, one being Nichols Tobacconist. The current beer garden of the Metropole is located where the two brick shops were located. The Plans show that the Hotel had a verandah that extended across the building facade and over the pavement.

Patrick Corcoran was an early publican of the Metropole Hotel (Boulder's Hidden Secrets, 1993).

General Comments: The role of hotels was crucial to the social and economic life on the goldfields. If mines were the sources of the miner's wages, the hotels were the sinks into which a lot of it was poured. Hotels not only provided alcoholic drinks, food and accommodation, but provided men with comfortable surroundings quite beyond their normal experience. Hotels were also vital social centres for travellers and residents alike (Webb, 1993: 543-544).

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Authenticity: Moderate

Condition

Fair - Poor

Uses

Historic Themes

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.