| Address: | 18 Ocean Beach Road, |
|---|---|
| Suburb: | Sorrento |
In 1887-88 the Oriental Coffee Palace was erected as a guesthouse by lime-burner William Hughes. It remained a ‘coffee palace’ providing family-style accommodation until 1954. Since then it has undergone numerous changes. It now houses a number of different commercial businesses in the shop fronts to Ocean Beach Road. In 2013 the building needs new tenants to fully occupy it. In the long term, the building awaits a conservation heritage plan, followed by restoration works and renovations to reinstate its heritage attributes and values. The Oriental remains significant not just as a stand alone building but for its added contribution to Sorrento’s streetscape and town character.
Oriental Coffee Palace and Guesthouse, built 1888: ca. 1920-1954 ----- William Hughes, an Irish immigrant and previous licensee at the Continental, built the Oriental as a boarding house. Image courtesy of Rose Stereograph Co and The State Library of Victoria.
The Argus, Friday September 1950.
The Oriental: ca 1978-1990 ----- The original limestone facade has been covered by a layer of render during remodelling. Image courtesy of the Nepean Historical Society Inc. (NHS).
