THE SOUTHERN HOTEL COMPANY'S HOTEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1191, 26 September 1874, Page 11

THE SOUTHERN HOTEL COMPANY'S HOTEL.

Mr R. A. Lawson has in preparation plans and specifications of the monster structure for the Southern Hotel Company. The site on which it is proposed to erect the building is the half-acre in High street on which stands Tamora House, and a quarter-acre section adjoining. The building will occupy the greater portion of the half-acre referred to, and the remainder of the ground will be laid out in an ornamental manner, with fountains, shrubs, and flowers. The building will have a frontage to High street of 10' ft., by a depth of 140 ft. The building is intended to be erected in the form of a hollow squarethat is to say, it will have an interior court which will not be covered over, and which will afford light and ventilation on all sides. The principal entrance to the hotel is intended to be from High street, and there will be a carriage entrance on the eastern side— the side nearest Manse street. This entrance will not be of the usual right-of-way description, as the space be tween the hotel and the nearest building on that side will comprise a .section and a third. The building will be five storeys high, and, in fact, in one part will bo six storeys, advantage being taken where the ground falls away to form a basement. It is proposed at present to erect the eastern and the northern wing, which are expected to give sufficient accommodation for immediate requirements, and the remaining portion can be added whenever deemed desiiable, without the work of erecting it interfering in any way with the portion of the building to bo first erected. At first it is intended to have no less than 100 bedrooms, but the whole structure as designed will hayo fully double that number. The dining-room is to be 75ft. by 3(sft. It will open on to a balcony which will give a promenade

the whole length of the eastern side of the building at such a height that no matter what building goes on in the neighborhood Hie outlook will be one of the finest from a locality so near the business part of the town— no building can shut out the view. It is intended to erect the basement in Port Chalmers stone, and the superstructure of brick finished in cement. It is not intended to give the building an ornate or rather elaborate appearance, but rather to consider the interior arrangements and fittings, so as to consult the comfort of those giving their patronage to the establishment. At the same time, the^ exterior, from the size and height of the building, cannot fail to have a massive and imposing effect, and will bear favourable comparison with the fronts of similar buildings elsewhere. The area of ground the building will cover is 14,600 square feet.