Criterion Hotel
A licensed public house has operated on the site of the Criterion Hotel since 1848. It has been remodelled several times, and the present building was constructed in 1937 for the Swan Brewery Company. It is the only remaining example of an Art Deco style hotel in the city.
In 1937 the old Criterion Hotel was completely replaced by the Art Deco building which still stands on Hay Street today. Then owned by the Swan Brewery, the new hotel was described as an up-to-date building ‘in keeping with the times’. To a design by well-known architects Hobbs, Forbes and Partners, the cost of the new building was £42,000, and furniture and furnishings involved an outlay of over £7,000.
There were three bars on the ground floor, each with polished jarrah panelling and counters set off by tiles and chrome. The refrigerators were said to be “on absolutely the latest linesâ€. Even more exciting, many of the 74 bedrooms came with attached bathrooms, hot and cold water, and a telephone in each room. All the furnishing was provided by Boans, which had established itself as the only Perth company able to undertake such large-scale jobs.
Today, the Criterion Hotel continues to provide accommodation for visitors to Perth, as well as being a tourist attraction as one of the most impressive Art Deco buildings in the city centre.
A licensed public house has operated on the site of the Criterion Hotel since 1848. It has been remodelled several times, and the present building was constructed in 1937 for the Swan Brewery Company. It is the only remaining example of an Art Deco style hotel in the city.
The earliest reference to a hotel on the site is in 1848, when Edward Barron was noted as running a public house there, although no name is given for the inn. By 1850, the place was called the John Bull Inn and was managed by Thomas Roach. As well as “spirits, brown stout, ale, and winesâ€, you were also assured of “good beds and stablingâ€.
In December 1883, new owner John Chipper changed the name of the John Bull Inn to the “more distinguished name and title of the Criterion Hotelâ€. He also set about making several improvements which would make it “the largest and most commodious hotel in the cityâ€. From contemporary descriptions, it seems more likely these ‘improvements’ consisted of demolishing the John Bull Hotel and erecting an entirely new building. In 1892, Chipper had installed electric lighting, making it one of the first places in Perth to do so.
In 1937 the old Criterion Hotel was completely replaced by the Art Deco building which still stands on Hay Street today. Then owned by the Swan Brewery, the new hotel was described as an up-to-date building ‘in keeping with the times’. To a design by well-known architects Hobbs, Forbes and Partners, the cost of the new building was £42,000, and furniture and furnishings involved an outlay of over £7,000.
There were three bars on the ground floor, each with polished jarrah panelling and counters set off by tiles and chrome. The refrigerators were said to be “on absolutely the latest linesâ€. Even more exciting, many of the 74 bedrooms came with attached bathrooms, hot and cold water, and a telephone in each room. All the furnishing was provided by Boans, which had established itself as the only Perth company able to undertake such large-scale jobs.
Today, the Criterion Hotel continues to provide accommodation for visitors to Perth, as well as being a tourist attraction as one of the most impressive Art Deco buildings in the city centre.
Perth Gazette 22 April 1848
Inquirer 2 January 1850
Daily News, 6 December 1883
Victorian Express 26 December 1883
West Australian 2 May 1892
Sunday Times 8 August 1937