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Victoria Hotel

Location 123 Beaconsfield Parade,, ALBERT PARK VIC 3206 - Property No B6859 File Number B6859 Level State

[1/1] B6859 Victoria Hotel

Statement of Significance

The Victoria Hotel, designed by Richard Speight, and completed in 1887, is architecturally and historically significant at the State level.
It is a large and architecturally distinctive resort hotel, and is a prominent 19th century landmark on Beaconsfield Parade. The elaborate and highly modeled corner tower, unusually set at 45 degrees, and capped by an octagonal belvedere with a truncated spire roof (demolished in the 1950s and rebuilt in the 1970s), is the most notable feature of the building. The two level arcaded verandah, with additional elaboration above the entrance, is also unusual. Built to a size and scale much greater than surrounding development, the Victoria Hotel is a graphic representation of the confidence and wealth of the land boom era, and is the major 19th century landmark on Beaconsfield Parade.
Some notable interior elements survive, especially the decoration of the stair hall, the windows in the current dining room, and the ceiling and cast iron columns of the original dining room, located in the ground floor of the rear wing.
Historically, it is the major remaining reminder of the leisure activities that once concentrated in this area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These included the Kerferd Road Pier (built the same year as the hotel), a number of seabaths, a bandstand, the beach promenade, the Kiosk in Kerferd Road, and a number of open-air cinemas.
Classified: 17/04/1998