Historical information

The Hotel Mansions was formerly the Grand Ozone Coffee Palace, erected in 1890 at a cost of around ten thousand pounds, and within 12 months of construction became a licensed hotel and was renamed the Ozone Hotel.. Coffee Palaces were temperance hotels which were popular in the latter part of the 19th century. They offered recreation and superior accommodation. The Ozone Hotel operated until 1915 and was then closed before re-opening in 1920 as the Hotel Mansions. It had major renovations including a large theatre area. February 23rd 1929 saw the most spectacular fire in Warrnambool's history when the Hotel Mansions was burnt to the ground. Evelyn O'Brien was granted a temporary licence and in September 1930 she was given permission to rebuild. The new hotel named Hotel Warrnambool was opened in March 1931.

Significance

An early photograph of a Warrnambool landmark.

Physical description

Small sepia photograph showing the Grand Hotel Mansions coffee Palace . Damage on the bottom left hand corner.