Published on Tuesday, 15 April 2025 at 11:30:42 AM
Welcome to #TimeWarpTuesday! This week we bring to you the next part of our mini-series on heritage places from the Town’s Municipal Heritage Inventory published in June 2000.
Heritage Places - Part 11
“Babylon Hotel
PH00251-01 The Babylon Hotel, East Victoria Park.
Photographed by HeritageToday for the Town of Victoria Park Municipal Heritage Inventory, that was published in 2000.
Address: 899-901 Albany Highway, cnr Westminster Street, East Victoria Park
“Historical Notes
“The Old Balmoral Hotel was opened in the 1930s. It was built for the Richmond Brewery Co. For a gimmick the Brewery Co. sold the Richmond dozen (13), sold in large bags similar to cement bags. The name came from nearby Balmoral Street. The hotel was built in stages and has continued to experience a number of changes including the enclosure and then recreation of the verandah as well as two name changes. Following the Balmoral it became the Boulevard and in 1995, along with many radical décor innovations initiated by Geoff Chambers, it became known as the Babylon Hotel.
“In its service life the hotel has had a number of owners. The owners over time supplied accommodation as well as food and beverages but since the 1970s it has been operating as a tavern. Today the old accommodation rooms on the second floor are used for storage.
“Description
“This an Inter-War period two storey hotel building with masonry walls, timber verandahs facing both streets, a prominent diagonal gable on the street corner, and a central arched masonry entrance to Albany Highway and a hipped ‘marseille’ terracotta tiled roof.
“All the timber work to the verandahs, including a shingle skirt beneath the first floor, have been painted in unsympathetic colours. These colours have been chosen to continue the theme of ‘deconstructionist’ décor that dominates the interior.
“The diagonal corner entry has a half timbered gable with shingles above. There is some filigree decoration to the posts. The chimneys are mostly rendered with a red brick band at the top and terracotta chimney pots. The ‘wrought iron’ fence has been added in recent times. This is one of many faces the hotel has had over the years.
“An unsympathetic addition is tacked onto the southern end on the Albany Highway frontage, forming an entrance of sorts to a nightclub within the building. The two date palms in the foreground of the hotel are recent additions as the former Flame trees were removed.” (1)
Some Confusion on Origins
The Babylon Hotel is now again called the Balmoral Hotel. Newspapers from 1932 site the hotel as being built for Mr David Coutts Donaldson, who had for many years been a publican in Boulder, before he and his wife moved to Perth. Articles included as images in this post tell a little of this story. It is unclear why Heritage Today did not mention Donaldson in their entry on the hotel which is the basis for this edition of Time Warp Tuesday, but there is definite potential here for someone to conduct dedicated research and uncover the complete story of this iconic building. A topic idea for the 2027 Local History Awards anyone?
Do you have memories of meeting friends at the Babylon/Boulevard/Balmoral Hotel? Had a meeting or taken part in a cycling race that started at the hotel? We’d love to hear about it and see photographs if you have any. Please get in touch via telephone: 08 9373 5500, email: vicparklibrary@vicpark.wa.gov.au or in person at 27 Sussex Street, East Victoria Park.
#LoveVicPark
Reference:
- Heritage Today 2000, ‘Town of Victoria Park Local Heritage Inventory, Heritage Today, Mount Lawley, pp. 132-135.
PH00251-02 The Balmoral Hotel, East Victoria Park, unknown date.
Local History Collection, Town of Victoria Park Library Service.
PH00251-03 The Boulevard Hotel, unknown date.
Local History Collection, Town of Victoria Park Library Service.
The Balmoral Hotel, 1933
The Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902-1954), 1 January 1933, p. 9.
Courtesy of Trove.
New Suburban Hotels - £20,000 Involved.
The Balmoral Hotel to be built for £10,700.
The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882-1955), 25 July 1932, p. 4.
Courtesy of Trove.
David Coutts Donaldson, the owner of the land and the hotel premises applies for a ‘Publican’s General Licence’.
The hotel described as “containing four sitting rooms, i.e., Lounge, Drawing Room and Commercial Room upstairs and Lounge downstairs and 23 bedrooms upstairs.”
The West Australian, 19 November 1932, p. 6.
Courtesy of Trove.
Advertisment for Richmond Beer that was sold in the famous “Richmond Dozen” (13 bottles) at the Balmoral Hotel.
Mirror (Perth, WA : 1921-1956), 10 December 1932, p. 8.
Courtesy of Trove.
Advertisment for the sale of Richmond Beer at the Balmoral Hotel.
Mirror (Perth, WA : 1921-1956), 10 December 1932, p. 8.
Courtesy of Trove.
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