New Zealand - Wellington
Hotel Waterloo, Waterloo Quay, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand.
The Waterloo Hotel was built for the New Zealand Breweries in 1937 and designed by the local firm of Atkins and Mitchell. At the time it opened it was a luxurious hotel built with railway customers in mind.
The development of a hotel on this prime site, on the corner of Waterloo Quay and Bunny Street, was planned to take advantage of the new Wellington Railway Station opposite, which opened in 1937.
The Waterloo was ideally located to cater for travellers arriving in Wellington by rail, or by sea on the inter-island ferry from Lyttelton, which docked at the Glasgow Wharf, opposite. During the 1940's and 1950's the Waterloo Hotel maintained its reputation as one of the capital's finest establishments for travellers; its status was acknowledged when it was selected as the accommodation for the young Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on their triumphant tour of New Zealand soon after the Queen's coronation in 1952. The sophisticated clientele that stayed at the hotel were in contrast to the wharfies and labourers who frequented the street level bars.
A podium and tower design not dissimilar to the Hotel St George, it had 102 rooms and accomodation for 123 when it opened. A contemporary account said it set "new standards in furnishings and interior decoration". The liberal use of chrome in many of the building's fitting was an integral part of the hotel's modern appearance.
The hotel went into decline in the 1980s and finally closed towards the end of the decade. In 1991 the hotel was granted a new lease of life when it was converted to a backpacker's hostel and the bars were reopened to the public.
From: www.wellington.govt.nz/services/heritage/pdfs/artdeco.pdf
New Zealand - Wellington
Hotel Waterloo, Waterloo Quay, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand.
The Waterloo Hotel was built for the New Zealand Breweries in 1937 and designed by the local firm of Atkins and Mitchell. At the time it opened it was a luxurious hotel built with railway customers in mind.
The development of a hotel on this prime site, on the corner of Waterloo Quay and Bunny Street, was planned to take advantage of the new Wellington Railway Station opposite, which opened in 1937.
The Waterloo was ideally located to cater for travellers arriving in Wellington by rail, or by sea on the inter-island ferry from Lyttelton, which docked at the Glasgow Wharf, opposite. During the 1940's and 1950's the Waterloo Hotel maintained its reputation as one of the capital's finest establishments for travellers; its status was acknowledged when it was selected as the accommodation for the young Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on their triumphant tour of New Zealand soon after the Queen's coronation in 1952. The sophisticated clientele that stayed at the hotel were in contrast to the wharfies and labourers who frequented the street level bars.
A podium and tower design not dissimilar to the Hotel St George, it had 102 rooms and accomodation for 123 when it opened. A contemporary account said it set "new standards in furnishings and interior decoration". The liberal use of chrome in many of the building's fitting was an integral part of the hotel's modern appearance.
The hotel went into decline in the 1980s and finally closed towards the end of the decade. In 1991 the hotel was granted a new lease of life when it was converted to a backpacker's hostel and the bars were reopened to the public.
From: www.wellington.govt.nz/services/heritage/pdfs/artdeco.pdf