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'{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{EngvarB|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox building | name = Southern Cross Hotel | status = Demolished | image =[[File:The Southern Cross Hotel Harold Freedman.jpg|thumb|]] | image_alt = Southern Cross Hotel | caption = Southern Cross Hotel Postcard c1962 | building_type = Hotel | architectural_style = [[Mid Century Modern]] | management = [[InterContinental]] | address = 131 [[Exhibition Street]] | location_town = [[Melbourne]] | location_country = Australia | coordinates = {{coord|-37.8122|144.9710|display=inline,title}} | map_type = Australia Melbourne | completion_date = 1961 | opened_date = 1962 | inauguration_date = | demolition_date = 2003 (closed 1995) | architecture_firm = [[Welton Becket]] and Associates in partnership with Leslie M Perrott & Partners | rooms = 435 | parking = 350 | embedded = | references = | highest_region = | highest_reflabel = | highest_prev = | highest_start = | highest_end = | highest_next = }} The '''Southern Cross Hotel''' was a hotel in Melbourne, Australia. It was opened by the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, on 24 August 1962 as Australia's first modern 'International' hotel, heralding the arrival of American-style glamour, the jet-set and international tourism. It occupied a large site on [[Bourke Street]] in central [[Melbourne]], formerly occupied by the grand Eastern Market, and was the premier hotel in the city into the early 1980s. The Southern Cross was the preferred hotel for celebrities in this period, most famously [[The Beatles]] in 1964, and the ballroom was the preferred location for locally and nationally important events. Closed in 1995 and partly demolished, the hotel tower remained standing and vacant until its demolition in 2003. == History == The half a city block site was occupied by the grand 1879 [[Eastern Market, Melbourne|Eastern Market]], and was owned by the [[City of Melbourne]]. Never having been successful as a food market, the structure had instead been the home of a variety of shops and entertainments, and by the 1950s it was seen as tawdry and outdated, and the Council began discussing what to do with the site. In the 1950s, US based hotels such as Hilton and the Pan Am owned [[InterContinental]] created the first international hotel chains, bringing US-style modernity to cities around the world. With the increasing use of faster [[jet aircraft|jet planes]], the concept of international travel as a glamorous activity for both tourism and business purposes developed through the late 50s and early 60s. In 1956, a vice-president of [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] visited Melbourne to explore the prospect of opening a hotel, and began negotiations with the Council over the Eastern Market site.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71811637 |title=U.S. AIRWAYS MAN LOOKS AT 3 HOTEL SITES. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=28 June 1956 |accessdate=14 May 2015 |page=6 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> A deal was eventually arranged in which a local consortium in partnership with InterContinental would build the hotel, leasing the land from the Council for 99 years, while InterContinental would provide management. In 1960, the Los Angeles architects [[Welton Becket]] & Associates,<ref>Welton Becket had previously designed four big hotels three for Hilton Hotels, two of them international; the Beverley Hilton in Los Angeles in 1953, the Havana Hilton in 1958, and the Nile Hilton (in Cairo) in 1959. They also designed the Sheraton Dallas in 1959. The 1950s hotels all shared the tower and podium format seen at the Southern Cross, a strongly modernist design, as well as decorative details and integral artworks.</ref> in partnership with local architects Leslie M. Perrot & Partners, were chosen, and demolition of the market commenced that year.<ref>"Southern Cross Hotel", ''The Encyclopedia of Melbourne'', Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, 2005.</ref> Billed as luxury hotel costing £5,250,000, that provided "comfort and service without equal",<ref>{{cite news|title= |work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=24 August 1962}}</ref> the completed building was opened by the Australian Prime Minister [[Robert Menzies]] on 14 August 1962, live on television.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41859973 |title=NEW HOTEL IS THE BIGGEST. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=22 August 1962 |accessdate=14 May 2015 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The Southern Cross was an immediate success, attracting the growing international '[[jet set]]', and hosting most world-famous visitors to Melbourne in the following decades such as [[the Beatles]], [[Judy Garland]], [[Rock Hudson]], [[David Cassidy]], [[John Wayne]] and [[Marlene Dietrich]].<ref>"Southern Cross Hotel", ''The Encyclopedia of Melbourne'', Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, 2005.</ref> The hotel is best known for hosting The Beatles on the Melbourne leg of their Australian tour in 1964. 'Beatlemania' reached a fever pitch in Melbourne, and huge crowds blocked traffic outside the hotel, and fainting girls had to be treated on the street. When they left, their bed sheets were torn up and sold for charity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/beatlemania-ps-we-love-you-20140228-33rjz.html|title = Beatlemania: P.S we love you|date = 28 February 2014}}</ref> In Beatle lore, their stay is important since it was the only hotel to host five of the Beatles at one time. (Jimmy Nicol was hired as a temporary drummer for an ill Ringo Starr). The Southern Cross remained the most glamorous place to stay through the 60s and 70s, and the large ballroom hosted many important events, including such nationally significant events as the [[Logie Awards|Logies]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Kennedy wins Logie|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110765473?searchTerm=logie%20southern%20cross&searchLimits=|newspaper=Canberra Times (Act : 1926 – 1995)|date = 9 March 1974|page = 3|publisher=Canberra Times, March 1974|accessdate=9 December 2015}}</ref> the [[Brownlow Medal|Brownlows]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Wanganeen wins Brownlow by one vote|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127248867?searchTerm=brownlow%20southern%20cross&searchLimits=|newspaper=Canberra Times (Act : 1926 – 1995)|date = 21 September 1993|page = 22|publisher=Canberra Times, September 1992|accessdate=9 December 2015}}</ref> and Liberal Party Federal election-night functions.<ref>"Southern Cross Hotel", ''The Encyclopedia of Melbourne'', Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, 2005.</ref> In 1977, with Pam Am in debt, Intercontinental sold their stake to Australian owners, and ceased to manage the hotel. With the opening of more, large luxury hotels beginning with the Hilton in East Melbourne in 1974, then the Grand Hyatt in nearby Collins Street in 1988, and the Langham in Southbank in 1992, the Southern Cross lost its premier position. The attached shopping court had never been particularly popular and by the 1980s was considered a planning failure. In the early 1990s, having already lost many of the 'themed' rooms, another refurbishment removed more of its remaining original character, the most dramatic change being beige paint over the blue tiled exterior. It was sold to [[Nauru|the Republic of Nauru]] in 1994, who then closed it on 1 April 1995 pending a large scale redevelopment that would have retained but reclad the hotel tower. After a failed appeal for [[Victorian Heritage Register|State heritage]] listing by the [[National Trust of Victoria]], the shopping court was demolished. However, this project never proceeded any further, and the abandoned tower stood derelict until finally being completely demolished in 2003, to make way for a new office development.<ref>"Southern Cross Hotel", ''The Encyclopedia of Melbourne'', Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, 2005.</ref> It has been replaced by the large [[Southern Cross Tower]] designed by [[Woods Bagot]].<ref>[http://www.onesteel.com/images/db_images/casestudies/OSS%208%20Southern%20Cross%20Melb.pdf Driven by Steel: SX1 – SOUTHERN CROSS DEVELOPMENT]</ref> == Features == Located on a two-and-a-quarter-acre site, the Southern Cross Hotel was a large project that included not just the hotel itself but a shopping plaza adjacent along Bourke Street, in an attempt to provide all the facilities a hotel guest might require in a single development. The 11 level tower of the 435-room hotel faced [[Exhibition Street]], above a lobby and bars and restaurants in the fully glazed ground and first floors. The double level plaza behind covered a larger area, had a long front along Bourke Street, and was wrapped around an internal square courtyard, with a central fountain. The plaza contained more associated bars and restaurants, and another 40 or so shops, as well a bowling alley on the upper level. The Southern Cross Ballroom, with a seating capacity of 500, sat on top of the south side of the plaza building, and was accessed from the main lobby. There were a total of ten bars, restaurants and function rooms within the hotel and the plaza, and the range of shops included such necessities as a pharmacy, hairdresser, beauty parlour, tobacconists, car rental, travel agents, banks, as well as fashion boutiques and gift shops. A large 350 space carpark in the basement served both guests and public (guests could park free of charge when it first opened).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41859973 |title=NEW HOTEL IS THE BIGGEST. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=22 August 1962 |accessdate=14 May 2015 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The shopping plaza was designed on a broad horizontal base, setback from the marked slope of [[Bourke Street|Bourke]] and [[Little Collins Street]]s (this created a break in the continuity of the shopfronts along Bourke Street, eventually affecting its popularity and viability).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55184968 |title=This hotel has everything. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=15 January 1964 |accessdate=14 May 2015 |page=37 Supplement: PERFECT HOLIDAYS |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The 435 bedrooms were double rooms available at single or double tariffs. They were decorated in seven different colour schemes, all of them [[Modernism|modern]] and striking.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41859973 |title=NEW HOTEL IS THE BIGGEST. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=22 August 1962 |accessdate=14 May 2015 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> All rooms were air-conditioned, with each guest permitted to regulate individual temperatures, as well as Radio, TV, and [[Elevator music|piped music]] being available in every room, all unusual features at the time. The rooms were available originally for £4 a day.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55184968 |title=This hotel has everything. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=15 January 1964 |accessdate=14 May 2015 |page=37 Supplement: PERFECT HOLIDAYS |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> == Architectural style == The [[Mid-century modern]] style exterior was decorative and colourful, featuring a flattened hexagonal pattern on the bold horizontals of the podium of the hotel and the shopping block, zig-zag edges to the base and top of the tower block, and most strikingly, bright blue spandrel panels on the tower that used [[mosaic]] tiles in twenty-three different shades. A large illuminated rooftop "Southern Cross" sign was attached to the front and back of the two-storey screen wall that hid the services on the roof. ===Interiors=== International chain hotels built in that period around the world were often boldly [[Modernist architecture|Modernist]], but featured art, decor or rooms with 'national' references. In the case of the Southern Cross, not only was the name a local reference, but some of the interiors reflected the still mostly Victorian-era city of Melbourne. The Mayfair Room featured cast-iron lace style filigree arched wall sections and gas-lamp style light fittings, the Coolibah Restaurant featured illuminated aboriginal-style shields and timber panelling, and at plaza level The Tavern featured ornate carved blackwood bars and room dividers with leadlight and etched glass panels like an old English pub.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41859973 |title=NEW HOTEL IS THE BIGGEST. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=22 August 1962 |accessdate=14 May 2015 |page=9 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> ===Critiques=== The decorative design was not well received by the architectural establishment when it opened, and by the end of its life it was widely seen as 'kitsch'. The use of purely decorative elements was exactly the kind of 'featurism' that influential local architect and critic [[Robin Boyd (architect)|Robin Boyd]] had consistently derided, especially in his 1960 publication [[The Australian Ugliness]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Storey|first1=Rohan|title=Bad taste is important too|journal=Trust News|date=August 1994|pages=8}}</ref> (though he never specifically criticised the Southern Cross). Most architects in Victoria in the 50s and 60s had similar views, and the Southern Cross remained the most prominent 'featurist' building in Melbourne. By the 1990s, the style of the hotel was widely considered to be in "bad taste." Writing about it in the early 1990s, Architectural Historian Miles Lewis described it as "garish, featuristic, and American".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Miles|title=Melbourne: The City's History and Development|date=1995|publisher=City of Melbourne|page=137}}</ref> However, The National Trust (Victoria) published an article in 1994 in defence of its importance, when they unsuccessfully attempted to have the building heritage listed.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Storey|first1=Rohan|title=Bad taste is important too|journal=Trust News|date=August 1994|pages=8}}</ref> == Directory of Shops == <ref>{{Citation | author1=Southern Cross Intercontinental Hotel (Melbourne, Vic.) | title=Welcome to the Southern Cross Intercontinental Hotel | publication-date=1900 | publisher=The Hotel | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32204368 | accessdate=14 May 2015 }}</ref> {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:96%;" ! width="80px"| Shop Number ! width="280px"| Name ! width="200px"| Location ! width="280px"| Service |- | || The Mayfair Restaurant || || [[Gourmet]] Restaurant |- | || The Coolibah Restaurant || || Australian Restaurant |- | || The Club Grill || || [[Rotisserie]] Restaurant |- | || The Ice Cream Parlour || || 1890s reproduction [[Ice Cream Parlour]] |- | || The Tavern || || [[Tavern]] |- | || Public Bar || Corner of [[Exhibition Street|Exhibition]] and [[Little Collins Street]]s|| Bar |- | || The Pub || || Sporting Bar |- | || The Wilawa || || Cocktail Bar |- | 6 || Tasmanian Tourist Bureau || Upper Plaza || Tourist Bureau |- | 7 || Dunklings || Upper Plaza || Jeweller |- | 8 || Goya Fashions || Upper Plaza || Fashions |- | 9 || [[Qantas]] || Upper Plaza || Airline |- | 10 || Southern Cross Pharmacy || Upper Plaza || Pharmacies |- | 12 || Ronson Sales & Service || Upper Plaza || Repair Centre |- | 16 || Ansett/ANA || Upper Plaza || Airline |- | 17 || National of A.Asia Ltd. || Upper Plaza || Bank |- | 18–21 || [[NCR Corporation|National Cash Register]] || Upper Plaza || Electric Computers |- | 22–31 || Southern Cross Bowl || Upper Plaza || Bowling |- | 28 || Magic Chef || Upper Plaza || Snacks |- | 32 || Chelmer Diagnostic Clinic || Upper Plaza || Medical |- | 28 || Magic Chef || Upper Plaza || Snacks |- | 34 || Peter E. & Ewart F. Norris || Upper Plaza || Solicitors |- | 35 || Austin-Anderson (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. || Upper Plaza || Engineers |- | 36 || Mayfair Colour Centre || Upper Plaza || Decorators |- | 37 || Coleman Portraits || Upper Plaza || Photographers |- | 39 || Cyclax Beauty Salon || Upper Plaza || Beauty Salon |- | 2 || Southern Cross Bottle Shop || Lower Plaza || Liquor |- | 3–4 || Arthur McKnight || Lower Plaza || Liquor |- | 5 || Somic Handbags || Lower Plaza || Handbags |- | 6 || [[WD & HO Wills]] || Lower Plaza || Cigarette & Tobacco Manufacturers |- | 7 || Chiropractic Clinic || Lower Plaza || Chiropractors |- | 8 || Consolidated Home Industries || Lower Plaza || Builders and Contractors |- | 9 || Fine Line Photography & Classic Car Hire || Lower Plaza || Photographer & Car Hire |- | 10 || Casa Pepe || Lower Plaza || Gifts |- | 12 || Casbah Pottery || Lower Plaza || Gifts |- | 12 || Goya Casuals || Lower Plaza || Fashions |- | 13 || François Kramer || Lower Plaza || Hairdressers |- | 14 || City Girl || Lower Plaza || Fashions |- | 15–16 || Chesters Menswear || Lower Plaza || Menswear |- | 17–18 || Camille Fashions || Lower Plaza || Fashions |- | 19 || Dorn Studios || Lower Plaza || Photographers |- | 19 || Australian Gift Shop || Lower Plaza || Gifts |- | 20 || Southern Cross Lingerie || Lower Plaza || Lingerie |- | 21–22 || [[Australia and New Zealand Banking Group|ANZ Bank]] || Lower Plaza || Bank |- | 21 || [[3AW]] || Lower Plaza || Radio |- | 23–24 || Parlorcars || Lower Plaza || Couch Tours |- | 26 || Newmans Chocolates || Lower Plaza || Chocolates |- | 27 || American Chamber of Commerce || Lower Plaza || Commerce |- | 28 || Southern Cross Theatre Bookings || Lower Plaza || Theatre Bookings |- | 29–30 || Tam the Cheap Grocer || Lower Plaza || Groceries |- | 31a || Adam Ties || Lower Plaza || Menswear |- | 32a || Toy Cave || Southern Cross Theatre Bookings || Children's Toys |- | 32b || Clothes Horse || Lower Plaza || Menswear |- | 33 || Isa Johnstone || Lower Plaza || Gifts |- | 34 || U-Rect-It || Lower Plaza || Shopfitter |- | 35 || Totalizator Agency Board || Lower Plaza || Betting |- | 36 || World Fair Promotion || Lower Plaza || Promotion |- | 37 || New Chinese Products || Lower Plaza || Gifts |- | 38 || Intercontinental Pharmacy || Lower Plaza || Pharmacies |- | 39 || Scholl Foot Service || Lower Plaza || Chiropody |- | 40 || Forum || Lower Plaza || Gifts |- | 41 || Boutique Forty One || Lower Plaza || Fashions |- | 42 || Southern Cross Water Sports || Lower Plaza || Sporting Equipment |- | 43 || Sophia's Reptile Gifts || Lower Plaza || Handbags |- | 44 || Pamamulls || Main Lobby || Jewellers |- | 5 || Kays || Main Lobby || Car Rental |- | 5a || Collins Book Depot || Main Lobby || Books |- | || Exclusive Limousines || Main Lobby || Private Car Services |- | 1 || William Grau || Mezzanine || Hairdressers |} ==Gallery== <gallery class="center" widths="160px" heights="130px"> File:Southern Cross Hotel Elevation.jpg|Elevation File:Southern Cross Hotel Section.jpg|Section </gallery> ==See also== * [[Southern Cross Tower]] ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Hotels in Melbourne]] [[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Melbourne]] [[Category:Former buildings and structures in Melbourne]] [[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1962]] [[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2003]] [[Category:1962 establishments in Australia]] [[Category:1995 disestablishments in Australia]] [[Category:InterContinental hotels]] [[Category:Welton Becket buildings]] [[Category:International Style (architecture)]] [[Category:Modernist architecture in Australia]] [[Category:Demolished hotels in Australia]]'