26-538: The Southern Cross Hotel was a hotel in Melbourne, Australia. It was opened by the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, on 24 August 1962 as Australia's first modern 'International' hotel, heralding the arrival of American-style glamour, the jet-set and international tourism. It occupied a large site on Bourke Street in central Melbourne , formerly occupied by the grand Eastern Market, and was the premier hotel in
52-496: A bowling alley on the upper level. The Southern Cross Ballroom, with a seating capacity of 500, sat on top of the south side of the plaza building, and was accessed from the main lobby. There were a total of ten bars, restaurants and function rooms within the hotel and the plaza, and the range of shops included such necessities as a pharmacy, hairdresser, beauty parlour, tobacconists, car rental, travel agents, banks, as well as fashion boutiques and gift shops. A large 350 space carpark in
78-464: A grand mezzanine and lobby, with numerous ballrooms and exhibition spaces. The redevelopment was expected to meet or exceed $ 175 million to cover both the construction of a larger residential tower consisting of serviced apartments and the hotel redevelopment. After a failed appeal for State heritage listing by the National Trust of Victoria , the shopping court was demolished. In late 1996,
104-589: A local consortium in partnership with InterContinental would build the hotel, leasing the land from the Council for 99 years, while InterContinental would provide management. In 1960, the Los Angeles architects Welton Becket & Associates, in partnership with local architects Leslie M. Perrot & Partners, were chosen, and demolition of the market commenced that year. Billed as luxury hotel costing £5,250,000, that provided "comfort and service without equal",
130-490: Is best known for hosting The Beatles on the Melbourne leg of their Australian tour in 1964. 'Beatlemania' reached a fever pitch in Melbourne, and huge crowds blocked traffic outside the hotel, and fainting girls had to be treated on the street. When they left, their bed sheets were torn up and sold for charity. In Beatle lore, their stay is important since it was the only hotel to host five of the Beatles at one time. (Jimmy Nicol
156-682: Is currently part of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning of the Government of Victoria , Australia . Heritage Victoria reports to the Heritage Council who approve recommendations to the Register and hear appeals when a registration is disputed. The council also hears appeals by an owner to a permit issued by Heritage Victoria (third parties cannot appeal). As of 2021, there are over 2,400 places and objects listed on
182-414: Is required, which may or may not be granted, or granted with conditions. Information on permits can be found here . 'Delisting' a place occurs only if the place has been destroyed (for instance by fire), or a permit has been granted for total demolition or alterations so extensive the place no longer has State level significance. The Planning Minister may intervene in the process of listing or the granting of
208-602: The 'themed' rooms, another refurbishment removed more of its remaining original character, the most dramatic change being beige paint over the blue tiled exterior. It was sold to the Republic of Nauru in 1994, who then closed it on 1 April 1995 pending a large scale redevelopment that would have retained hotel tower with aesthetic enhancements. The proposed redevelopment of the Southern Cross Hotel included significant upgrades to guest accommodation, restaurants,
234-507: The Coolibah Restaurant featured illuminated aboriginal-style shields and timber panelling, and at plaza level The Tavern featured ornate carved blackwood bars and room dividers with leadlight and etched glass panels like an old English pub. The decorative design was not well received by the architectural establishment when it opened, and by the end of its life it was widely seen as 'kitsch'. The use of purely decorative elements
260-726: The Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. Heritage Victoria was established as the State Government listing and permit authority in 1995, replacing the original authority, the Historic Buildings Preservation Council, established in 1974. Listing on the Victorian Heritage Register is separate from listing by a local Council or Shire, known as a Heritage Overlay. Heritage Victoria
286-545: The VHR. The Act allows the registration of a wide range of cultural heritage places and objects, including: Places listed on the Victorian Heritage Register can be found on the Victorian Heritage Database, which also lists many places with a local level of protection. Listing on the Victorian Heritage Register does not mean a place cannot be demolished or altered; instead a permit from Heritage Victoria
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#1732772034280312-590: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 196161193 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:33:54 GMT Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register ( VHR ) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria , Australia . It has statutory weight under
338-420: The abandoned tower stood derelict until finally being completely demolished in 2003, to make way for a new office development. It has been replaced by the large Southern Cross Tower designed by Woods Bagot . Located on a two-and-a-quarter-acre site, the Southern Cross Hotel was a large project that included not just the hotel itself but a shopping plaza adjacent along Bourke Street, in an attempt to provide all
364-717: The basement served both guests and public (guests could park free of charge when it first opened). The shopping plaza was designed on a broad horizontal base, setback from the marked slope of Bourke and Little Collins Streets (this created a break in the continuity of the shopfronts along Bourke Street, eventually affecting its popularity and viability). The 435 bedrooms were double rooms available at single or double tariffs. They were decorated in seven different colour schemes, all of them modern and striking. All rooms were air-conditioned, with each guest permitted to regulate individual temperatures, as well as Radio, TV, and piped music being available in every room, all unusual features at
390-428: The city into the early 1980s. The Southern Cross was the preferred hotel for celebrities in this period, most famously The Beatles in 1964, and the ballroom was the preferred location for locally and nationally important events. Closed in 1995 and partly demolished, the hotel tower remained standing and vacant until its demolition in 2003. The half a city block site was occupied by the grand 1879 Eastern Market , and
416-515: The completed building was opened by the Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies on 14 August 1962, live on television. The Southern Cross was an immediate success, attracting the growing international ' jet set ', and hosting most world-famous visitors to Melbourne in the following decades such as the Beatles , Judy Garland , Rock Hudson , David Cassidy , John Wayne and Marlene Dietrich . The hotel
442-482: The facilities a hotel guest might require in a single development. The 11 level tower of the 435-room hotel faced Exhibition Street , above a lobby and bars and restaurants in the fully glazed ground and first floors. The double level plaza behind covered a larger area, had a long front along Bourke Street, and was wrapped around an internal square courtyard, with a central fountain. The plaza contained more associated bars and restaurants, and another 40 or so shops, as well
468-606: The financial position of the Nauruan Government and its real-estate holdings had become public. The small island state had suffered from decades of financial mismanagement, squandering a fortune in excess of $ 1.5 billion to complete bankruptcy. These financial woes, combined with significant cost blowouts and delays, resulted in Nauru abandoning the redevelopment (amongst numerous other projects and properties in Melbourne and Sydney). The project never proceeded any further, and
494-765: The hotel. With the opening of more, large luxury hotels beginning with the Hilton in East Melbourne in 1974, then the Grand Hyatt in nearby Collins Street in 1988, and the Langham in Southbank in 1992, the Southern Cross lost its premier position. The attached shopping court had never been particularly popular and by the 1980s was considered a planning failure. In the early 1990s, having already lost many of
520-688: The style of the hotel was widely considered to be in "bad taste." Writing about it in the early 1990s, Architectural Historian Miles Lewis described it as "garish, featuristic, and American". However, The National Trust (Victoria) published an article in 1994 in defence of its importance, when they unsuccessfully attempted to have the building heritage listed. (Renamed the Palm Court Restaurant in 1990s) (Awarded Michelin Star Status and Winner of Chaine des Rotisseurs) Bourke Street Too Many Requests If you report this error to
546-474: The time. The rooms were available originally for £4 a day. The Mid-century modern style exterior was decorative and colourful, featuring a flattened hexagonal pattern on the bold horizontals of the podium of the hotel and the shopping block, zig-zag edges to the base and top of the tower block, and most strikingly, bright blue spandrel panels on the tower that used mosaic tiles in twenty-three different shades. A large illuminated rooftop "Southern Cross" sign
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#1732772034280572-479: The world. With the increasing use of faster jet planes , the concept of international travel as a glamorous activity for both tourism and business purposes developed through the late 50s and early 60s. In 1956, a vice-president of Pan Am visited Melbourne to explore the prospect of opening a hotel, and began negotiations with the Council over the Eastern Market site. A deal was eventually arranged in which
598-532: Was attached to the front and back of the two-storey screen wall that hid the services on the roof. International chain hotels built in that period around the world were often boldly Modernist , but featured art, decor or rooms with 'national' references. In the case of the Southern Cross, not only was the name a local reference, but some of the interiors reflected the still mostly Victorian-era city of Melbourne. The Mayfair Room featured cast-iron lace style filigree arched wall sections and gas-lamp style light fittings,
624-580: Was exactly the kind of 'featurism' that influential local architect and critic Robin Boyd had consistently derided, especially in his 1960 publication The Australian Ugliness (though he never specifically criticised the Southern Cross). Most architects in Victoria in the 50s and 60s had similar views, and the Southern Cross remained the most prominent 'featurist' building in Melbourne. By the 1990s,
650-546: Was hired as a temporary drummer for an ill Ringo Starr). The Southern Cross remained the most glamorous place to stay through the 60s and 70s, and the large ballroom hosted many important events, including such nationally significant events as the Logies , the Brownlows , and Liberal Party Federal election-night functions. In 1977, with Pam Am in debt, Intercontinental sold their stake to Australian owners, and ceased to manage
676-559: Was owned by the City of Melbourne . Never having been successful as a food market, the structure had instead been the home of a variety of shops and entertainments, and by the 1950s it was seen as tawdry and outdated, and the Council began discussing what to do with the site. In the 1950s, US based hotels such as Hilton and the Pan Am owned InterContinental created the first international hotel chains, bringing US-style modernity to cities around
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