14. Former Crown Hotel - c 1890

The first hotel of timber and iron was erected on this site in 1887 with Eugene Grandjean as licensee. It was rebuilt in brick and stone c1890. The Argent Street fire of 5 November 1888 was a turning point for timber hotels, and the Licensing Court ruled that no new licenses would be granted for timber and iron hotels.  

The Crown was one of several new hotels, along with the Grand Hotel, the Australian Club (now Argent House) and the rebuilt Duke of Cornwall.  

The current verandah was built in 1995 as part of the Verandah Restoration Program. Many of Broken Hill’s commercial verandahs were removed in the 1960s at a time when the installation of cantilevered awnings was required by many councils. There was concern about vehicles colliding with verandah posts! Some early verandahs escaped this fate, but many did not. 

Audio transcript available.