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GRESHAM HOTEL
Date Opened : 1851
Date Closed : 1965
Address :
3 King William Street, Adelaide
History
| GRESHAM HOTEL | 1851 | 1965 |
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Labels
Hotel Photos
Schurgott Collection
Ephemera & Paperwork
Publicans
| Once standing on one of the busiest corners in Adelaide, few today realise that this prominent site was home to one of South Australia's most well-known hotels the Gresham Hotel. The original building likely reused the former General Post Office, which vacated the site when it moved to 141 King William Street in 1851. The hotel’s first publican, Otto Hawkins, ran the business for four years before a rapid turnover of licensees followed over the next two decades. In 1874, Henry Reynolds transformed the modest structure, rebuilding it as a larger, two-storey hotel. A clever addition was a balcony facing Parliament House, which became a strategic location for public demonstrations. Reynolds even advertised it as the perfect vantage point for protests and public speeches. The final expansion came in 1898, when a third storey was added and the hotel's footprint enlarged, making it a dominant structure on the corner. Ironically, the hotel’s prime location eventually led to its demise. As property values soared, the land became more valuable than the hotel itself. In 1965, the Gresham Hotel was demolished to make way for the AMP Building, which now houses SEN 1629.  1960 State Library [PRG 1662/4/67] |