About & Description

The Imperial Hotel at the corner of Fort and Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand; Now a part of the National Historic Places Trust, It is still operational, but now offers accommodation to backpackers. The building has served as a social centre for the city for more than 125 years, and remains a popular watering hole and communal lounge.ConstructionAccording to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, construction on the original Imperial Hotel was started and finished in 1883. Auckland architects Edward Mahoney and Son designed the building in a symmetrical pattern. It was constructed by builder John Currie for £4,268 ($6,918), Later, between 1862 and 1873, three additional buildings were added: two other hotel building,s and an outhouse, built.HistoryThere was an hotel on the site prior to the construction of the Imperial Hotel, the Metropolitan Hotel, opened in 1858. A fire destroyed much of the original building, which was later demolished. Thomas Anderson, a hotelkeeper, acquired the lease in 1882. He sought to make changes so it could accommodate more people. New liquor legislation, the Liquor Licensing Act 1881, fostered a boom in the hotel industry, as did overall economic growth. As a result, Anderson received a £1000 bond from Hancock Brewers, in exchange for promising to sell their product. This enabled construction of the new hotel building, and the hotel was renamed the Imperial Hotel in 1883. The area had also been used for a set of offices for the Auckland Gas Board and Auckland Harbour Board.In 1885, the lease changed hands from Anderson to Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society, a large Melbourne-based company. They used a portion of the building as their corporate offices, but continued to call the structure the Imperial Hotel. By 1889, the hotel had expanded to incorporate Graham’s Buildings from 1862, and was completely accessible from Fort Street.