Historical information

The Ozone Coffee Palace was built in 1890-1891. It was designed by Mr J McLeod. It was grand in design and decoration. The term Coffee Palace was used to describe temperance hotels which were built during the 1880’s -1890’s. They typically were multi-purpose and had a large number of rooms for ballrooms and leisure activities. Coffee palaces were aimed at families in coastal areas and inner city locations. Examples of some are The Windsor Hotel Melbourne, Ozone, Queenscliff and Kilbreda Convent in Mentone.
The bottom part of the advertisement is a testimonial written by Brassey and Sybil De V Brassey, Lord Brassey being Governor of Victoria around 1895. Their visit to Warrnambool and their stay at the Ozone sparked a much needed interest in the Ozone. In 1896 the price to stay at the Ozone was two pounds two shillings and it remain in business for several years but in 1910 it closed after losing money for many years. It remained closed until it was bought by Mr Howard Lawson in 1920. It continued to struggle financially. It was burnt down in February 1929.

Significance

When the Ozone was built in1891 it was the largest building in Warrnambool. It occupied a prominent position on the corner of Koroit and Kepler Streets. The grand architectural style in which it was built, was used for a number of similar buildings throughout the state. The fire which destroyed the building was one of the largest in the town.

Physical description

Large photograph glued to the top of the card with text in various styles underneath. Photo is sepia and card is cream. The bottom part of the piece has broken away.

Inscriptions & markings

Jordan in bottom LH corner of photograph. “L.N. Moore 2 Landcox St Nth Brighton” written in pencil on back.