Demolition

Back in 2022 I posted about this building in town - the Royal Hotel which sits along Mawhera Quay by the Grey River. It had been closed and boarded up but shortly after I took this photo, work started to remove the asbestos from inside in preparation for demolition. 

The asbestos and the building being earthquake prone are the reasons for it coming down. It is privately owned so I imagine it will cost the owners too much money to bring it up to code. 

Last Friday there was a post on the town Facebook page from the local council notifying everyone that on the following day (Saturday) the building was going to be demolished. So B and I drove into town to get some photos. 

The top half had been toppled down but the bottom half was still hanging in there.

We weren't the only spectators to go and have a nosey, looks like quite a few people turned up.

By the time we got there it was half done, apparently it's going to take a few days to get everything cleared up. Greymouth is an old town as it use to be a part of the gold and coal mining days of the 1800s but now it needs some modernizing so it will be interesting to see what will be put in it's place.

As of today this is what's left of it.

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Royal Hotel

 

On one of Greymouth's side streets is this beauty. Originally named The Wharfe Hotel (I'm assuming because it's next to the Grey River) and built in 1876 it was renamed The Royal Hotel in 1903. The original burned down in the 1930s and was rebuilt (as per photos below and above).

Photo from between January 1950 and December 1969 - Alexander Turnbull Library.

After new owners completing extensive renovations inside it is now up for sale and unfortunately is earthquake prone like many buildings on the west coast. The hotel has been empty for about 5 years and is due to be demolished at some point.

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