The Empire Buildings , also often referred to as the Empire Building, are a group of heritage listed buildings on the corner of Stirling Terrace and York Street overlooking Princess Royal Harbour in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
| Empire Buildings | |
|---|---|
 Empire Building on the corner of York Street and Stirling Terrace | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Heritage listed buildings |
| Location | Albany, Western Australia |
| Coordinates | 35°01′36″S 117°53′02″E / 35.02672°S 117.88394°E |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 7 December 2007 |
| Part of | Stirling Terrace Precinct, Albany (14922) |
| Reference no. | 77 |
The buildings were constructed in 1912,[1] and once comprised a group of shops and a cinema. The buildings have elements of Federation Free Style architectural design such as asymmetry and use of two contrasting building materials of brick and cement render.[2]
Replacing a single storied bungalow structure that faced York Street,[1] the Empire theatre was designed by architect Tom Anthoness and was built by J. Ashman and Warner.[3] Initially the building held a theatre and shops. The theatre was able to hold 1,000 people.[1] The theatre cost £5,000 and was owned and operated by West's Picture Company. It boasted refreshment stalls, a winter garden for ladies and a spacious dress circle.[4]
Features of the two storey building include a corner entrance, asymmetrical facade, parapet wall concealing roof, informal groupings of windows, gabled pediment and decorative skyline features.[1]
In 2000 a portion of the building was converted to a nightclub.[2] It was closed for some time and reopened to include a bar on the ground floor in 2006.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Empire Buildings". Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ a b "City of Albany Municipal Heritage Inventory Review Volume III of IV" (PDF). City of Albany. 1994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "The Advertiser". Albany Advertiser. Vol. XXIV, no. 3097. Western Australia. 26 October 1912. p. 3. Retrieved 15 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Princess Pavilion". WA Cinemaweb. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ "Albany council approves nightclub re-opening". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 August 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2016.