Cee’s Fun Foto: Abandoned buildings:The Albert Hotel, Hastings

Good morning from a wet Hastings day.  Yesterday I had noticed that in some streets the grass was dying off from the heat and no rain so it is nice to see some rain.

Last night my son had his prize giving.  For the first year he didn’t get an award.  I am still proud of him as he did get a scholarship for his studies next year.

So onto Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge:

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Abandoned Buildings or Barns

We don’t have a lot of old barns where I live, nor do we have a lot of abandoned buildings as such.  A lot of empty shops.  I had a chance to wander around the CBD and took photos of the Albert Hotel.

The Albert Hotel is Hastings’ oldest inner-city building. It was constructed around 1882 by William Dennett, an Australian immigrant and former soldier who later became Mayor of Hastings. The hotel was fortunate to survive the 1893 fire and remained a hotel until 1976, when it was converted into a tavern. Permanent boarders occupy the first floor of the building today. For much of the twentieth century, the building was concurrently owned by two breweries. Various plans to demolish the building, the first in 1971 and the second in 1984, have come to nothing and the hotel’s future now seems assured.

This building has historical significance, not only as the oldest inner-city building in Hastings, but also as a continuously operating hotel; a place visited by generations of Hastings residents and visitors. It is also important for its association with Dennett.

The Albert Hotel is a significant Hastings landmark, particularly as a timber building from the 1880s in a central business area now dominated by post-earthquake concrete buildings of the 1930s. It has high townscape value on a prominent corner site, contrasting with its neighbours in terms of age and materials but being compatible in terms of scale and height. It is a good example of a building type that was once common throughout New Zealand; a corner hotel built in timber and with verandah around both street facades. In addition, it is in reasonably authentic condition with much of the exterior fabric and the main staircase inside true to its 1880s form.

Actually this information is not quite correct on this site

http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/1079

The last I read was that it was to be demolished and the site redeveloped.  It isn’t safe which is a shame and to completely restore it would cost too much.  That is thanks to the Christchurch earthquake in 2011, and all the buildings are now required to undergo earthquake strengthening.  A bit ironic when it survived the big one in 1931.

So it nice to have some photos of it before it disappears from our memories.

Here are some more photos which I edited as vintage photos just to add some authenticity.

http://lingeringvisions.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/cees-fun-foto-challenge-abandoned-barns/

https://emiliopasquale.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/cees-fun-foto-challenge-abandoned-buildings/

BARNS, MILLS, AND EMPTY FACTORIES

http://piecesofstarlight.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/fun-foto-challenge-abandoned-boat-with-sea-lions/

http://irisgreenwald.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/cees-fun-foto-challenge-abandoned-buildings-and-barns/

http://woollymuses.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/cees-fun-foto-challenge-abandoned-building-barns/

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Abandoned Buildings Wellington

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