For over 100 years the Imperial Hotel stood on the south-western corner of Currie and Devon Streets.
Work began on the hotel - originally a three-storey structure - in December 1864. It was designed in an Italian-style by Messrs. Watson and Brown (New Plymouth) for Mr William Henwood. When it first opened in 1865 it was known as the Travellers' Hotel, but by 1866 (with new licensee C. Autridge) it had changed its name to the Imperial Hotel.
Over the years the hotel had numerous owners and was remodelled several times - see Fred Butler's history of the hotel below for more details.
It finally closed in February 1972 and was demolished the following year.
It was replaced by a combined retail/office block, known as the Imperial Building.
Town Section 905, Taranaki Land Deed Index I1 page 354.
Related documents:
Walker's Imperial Hotel (Taranaki Herald 10 April 1882)
History of the Imperial Hotel (Early Days Taranaki, Fred Butler, 1942)
Hotel Imperial Advertisement (Taranaki Herald 9 March 1940)
Imperial Hotel Sold (Taranaki Herald 30 March 1971)
IMPERIAL - hotel of many faces (Taranaki Herald 19 February 1972)
Imperial is closed (Taranaki Herald 21 February 1972)
Under the Imperial (Taranaki Herald 24 February 1972)
Coming down (Taranaki Herald 26 January 1973)
Demolition Completed (Taranaki Herald 20 March 1973)
And the walls came tumbling down (New Plymouth Photo News Vol 17 #3, 21 March 1973)
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