Hotel Metropole, Sydney

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Hotel Metropole was a grand hotel in Sydney’s central business district, on the corner of Bent, Phillip, and Young Streets. It opened on 14 January 1890 and quickly became one of the city’s premier hotels, especially for visitors from rural areas. It was designed by the architectural firms Sheerin & Hennessy and Twentyman & Askew, and was later expanded in 1929 under Henry Budden, increasing its capacity to more than 530 guests and adding private bathrooms and new dining rooms.

The hotel was renamed Hotel Metropole in 1889 to avoid the temperance image of a “Coffee Palace,” and it opened with electric lighting. It became famous for its quality and for hosting notable guests. In 1891 it gained a liquor licence, ending its earlier “dry” status, and the hotel operated as a well-loved city institution through World War I and beyond.

By the late 1960s, rising land values and development pressure led to plans to replace the hotel with a modern office tower. In August 1969 the City of Sydney approved the demolition, and the Metropole closed on 5 May 1970. The site was developed as a 33-storey office block known as the CAGA Centre (later associated with Governor Macquarie Tower). The Metropole’s liquor licence was transferred to a tavern in the new complex, the Metropole Tavern, which opened in 1974 and became a popular live music venue before closing in 1980; its licence later moved to Parramatta in 1981.