This two-storey hotel was located on the corner of Egmont Street and Devon Street West. It was built in 1894 for the New Plymouth businessman, Mr. William Bayly.
On the ground floor were three shops, a billiard-room, chess room and the kitchen and dining room for the "Coffee Palace". On the upper floor were 23 bedrooms and two bathrooms. At the time of opening in September 1894, Mr. C. Arscott ran the hotel and Mr.F.J. Jury leased the billiard and chess rooms.
The architect was James Sanderson and the main contractor, Mr R.N. Hooker.
The building changed owners and names many times over the years. The well-known Centreway Cafe opened in one of the ground floor shops in April, 1947.
On 17 November 1980 a fierce blaze ripped through the top storey of the old wooden building. All but one of the shops were destroyed and the building, which had been recently bought by Mr A.McBride, was demolished soon after. (Daily News 18 November 1980)
A new building, owned by Parininihi ki Waitotara Inc., was built on the section in 1984.
Related items:
DP1691 Subdivision of section 646, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
Buyers sought (Daily News 6 February 1973)
Charred remains (Taranaki Herald 9 December 1980)
Please do not reproduce these images without permission from Puke Ariki.
Contact us for more information or you can order images online here.
