The Station Hotel (Former) was built in 1930-1 directly opposite the newly-constructed Auckland Railway Station in Beach Road, which formed the main land-based gateway to Auckland. Designed to harmonise with the station, the brick hotel reflects the ‘golden age’ of New Zealand’s railway system and is of regional significance for reflecting Auckland’s changing social history over many decades. It is also architecturally significant in its own right as a design by William Swanson Read Bloomfield (1885-1968) of Ngati Kahungunu, considered likely to be the first person of Maori descent to attend architecture school and practice as an architect. Reinforcing the hotel’s potency as a symbol of progress, the structure occupies land once part of the grounds of the colonial General Assembly and Provincial Buildings - cut down as part of extensive early-twentieth century remodelling and reclamations to provide better port, road and rail access.
The relocation of Auckland’s railway station allowed the opportunity to establish new facilities for rail travellers, and the developers of this hotel, Hancock and Co, wanted to build a hotel ‘on the lines of the large American and Continental hotels’, for both rail and overseas travellers. By the early twentieth century when Bloomfield was studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania (1911-13), American hotels formed the global standard for commercial hospitality. The Station Hotel was built by Fletchers Construction; it was one of the very few commercial buildings constructed in Auckland during the Great Depression.
In response to the unusual geography of the site, the hotel consisting of seven floors plus basement was built into the steep slope of the hill and could be entered on either the ground floor; or the sixth floor, from a long courtyard on Anzac Avenue. The ground floor contained the lobby and bars, the fifth floor the dining room, and the sixth floor was completely taken up with a highly decorated lounge bar. Although a number of these spaces have since been reorganised notable surviving features include a segmental arched ceiling with timbering, and deeply moulded Art Deco plaster capitals with unmistakable Maori cultural references. In 1967 the hotel was extended into a two-storey building next door on Beach Road, and at some point the entrance from Anzac Avenue was covered with a one storey addition.
The hotel, its bars and dining rooms enjoyed a significant social history, and its managers often became well-known personalities. The hotel was once an elegant place to stay and played host to many social occasions, for both Aucklanders and travellers. In the 1930s and 1940s the Station Hotel was a favourite of Labour members of parliament, and during the Second World War (1939-45) it was favoured by American soldiers. From the 1950s it became well known as a ‘sporting hotel’; and many involved in rugby and racing stayed there. In the 1960s it was the first in Auckland to be granted an ‘entertainment licence’ allowing it to hold dances in its dining room, making it a popular venue with locals wishing to circumvent alcohol licencing laws. At around this time the reputation of the hotel declined; despite this, the proximity to the Supreme Court made its bars popular with senior police officers. In the 1960s and 1970s the hotel became very well known as a music venue; many significant concerts were held there. The decline in the prestige of the building broadly coincided with that of the railway system, as road transport and motels increasingly gained popularity from the middle of the twentieth century. Since the 1970s, the building, operating as both a hotel and a hostel, has been known by a number of different names. It survives as an important symbol of the popularity of New Zealand's rail network in early and mid-twentieth century society.
The relocation of Auckland’s railway station allowed the opportunity to establish new facilities for rail travellers, and the developers of this hotel, Hancock and Co, wanted to build a hotel ‘on the lines of the large American and Continental hotels’, for both rail and overseas travellers. By the early twentieth century when Bloomfield was studying architecture at the University of Pennsylvania (1911-13), American hotels formed the global standard for commercial hospitality. The Station Hotel was built by Fletchers Construction; it was one of the very few commercial buildings constructed in Auckland during the Great Depression.
In response to the unusual geography of the site, the hotel consisting of seven floors plus basement was built into the steep slope of the hill and could be entered on either the ground floor; or the sixth floor, from a long courtyard on Anzac Avenue. The ground floor contained the lobby and bars, the fifth floor the dining room, and the sixth floor was completely taken up with a highly decorated lounge bar. Although a number of these spaces have since been reorganised notable surviving features include a segmental arched ceiling with timbering, and deeply moulded Art Deco plaster capitals with unmistakable Maori cultural references. In 1967 the hotel was extended into a two-storey building next door on Beach Road, and at some point the entrance from Anzac Avenue was covered with a one storey addition.
The hotel, its bars and dining rooms enjoyed a significant social history, and its managers often became well-known personalities. The hotel was once an elegant place to stay and played host to many social occasions, for both Aucklanders and travellers. In the 1930s and 1940s the Station Hotel was a favourite of Labour members of parliament, and during the Second World War (1939-45) it was favoured by American soldiers. From the 1950s it became well known as a ‘sporting hotel’; and many involved in rugby and racing stayed there. In the 1960s it was the first in Auckland to be granted an ‘entertainment licence’ allowing it to hold dances in its dining room, making it a popular venue with locals wishing to circumvent alcohol licencing laws. At around this time the reputation of the hotel declined; despite this, the proximity to the Supreme Court made its bars popular with senior police officers. In the 1960s and 1970s the hotel became very well known as a music venue; many significant concerts were held there. The decline in the prestige of the building broadly coincided with that of the railway system, as road transport and motels increasingly gained popularity from the middle of the twentieth century. Since the 1970s, the building, operating as both a hotel and a hostel, has been known by a number of different names. It survives as an important symbol of the popularity of New Zealand's rail network in early and mid-twentieth century society.
