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Line 1: {{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2015}} {{Use Australian English\|date=April 2015}} {{Infobox building \| name = ~~Former~~ General Post Office, <br /> <small>Adelaide</small> \| image = ~~AdelaideGPO~~Post Office, Adelaide(GN02749).~~jpeg~~jpg \| caption = View from [[Victoria Square, Adelaide\|Victoria Square / Tarntanyangga]], {{circa\|~~1872~~1885}} \| location = [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], [[Australia]] \| architectural_style = [[Neoclassical architecture\|Neoclassical]] \| start_date = 1867 \| completion_date = 1872 \| coordinates = {{coord\|34\|55\|33.96\|S\|138\|36\|0.66\|E\|display=inline,title}} \| architect = [[Edmund Wright (architect)\|Edmund Wright]] and [[E. J. Woods\|Edward Woods]] \| closing_date = 11 October 2019 ~~\| date_demolished =~~ }} The '''~~Adelaide's former~~ General Post Office''' is a colonial-era building atsituated on 141 [[King William Street, Adelaide\|King William Street]] on the north-west corner of King William Street and [[Victoria Square, Adelaide\|Victoria Square]]. It is the former General Post Office for South Australia. Postal services operated from the building between 6 May 1872 and 11 October 2019. A 14-story hotel was built behind the historic structure, starting in 2021. It opened as the Adelaide Marriott Hotel in 2024. ~~==Construction==~~ The original building was constructed in the period 1867–1872, and was the most expensive building constructed to that time by the colonial government in South Australia. [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha\|Prince Alfred, The Duke of Edinburgh]], was involved in laying the foundation stone. It is associated with several architects of note, including [[Edmund Wright (architect)\|Edmund Wright]], [[Edward John Woods]], [[Edward Angus Hamilton]] and [[Robert G. Thomas]]<ref name=AHDB>{{cite web \|url= http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;search=state%3DSA%3Blist_code%3DCHL%3Blegal_status%3D35%3Bkeyword_PD%3D0%3Bkeyword_SS%3D0%3Bkeyword_PH%3D0;place_id=105518 \|title= Place Details: Adelaide General Post Office, 141 King William St, Adelaide, SA, Australia \|work=Australian Heritage Database \|accessdate= 12 Jan 2015}}</ref> It was constructed from Glen Osmond and Glen Ewin stone, and ornamented with Bath limestone.<ref name=AHDB/> ==History== The clock tower was officially named Victoria Tower by Prince Alfred on 1 November 1867 when he laid the foundation stone.<ref>{{cite news \|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159514227 \|title=The Victoria Tower \|newspaper=[[Adelaide Observer]] \|volume=XXV \|issue=1361 \|location=South Australia \|date=2 November 1867 \|accessdate=27 December 2016 \|page=4 (Supplement to the Adelaide Observer.) \|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The capstone<!--not linked as no suitable WP article. "capstone" links to coping (architecture), a different beast altogether--> was put in place at a ceremony on 25 May 1870. The height of the tower was put at {{convert\|154\|ft\|m\|1}}, a little taller than the Albert Tower of the [[Adelaide Town Hall\|Town Hall]] on the other side of King William Street.<ref>{{cite news \|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196731293 \|title=The New Post-Office Tower \|newspaper=[[Evening Journal (Adelaide)]] \|volume=II \|issue=423 \|location=South Australia \|date=26 May 1870 \|accessdate=27 December 2016 \|page=3 \|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>▼ ===General Post Office=== The original plans had the tower somewhat taller, but R. G. Thomas was obliged to redesign it, as a cost saving measure.<ref>{{cite news \|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159561213 \|title=The Late Mr. R. G. Thomas \|newspaper=[[Adelaide Observer]] \|volume=XL \|issue=2168 \|location=South Australia \|date=21 April 1883 \|accessdate=4 January 2017 \|page=34 \|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>▼ The original building was constructed in the period 1867–1872, and was the most expensive building constructed to that time by the [[Government of South Australia#History\|colonial government in South Australia]].<ref name=AHDB/> It was constructed from Glen Osmond and Glen Ewin stone, and ornamented with [[Bath, Somerset\|Bath]] limestone.<ref name=AHDB/> A competition was held in March 1866 for the design of the building, with the winning design submitted by [[Edmund Wright (architect)\|Edmund Wright]] in collaboration with [[Edward Hamilton (Australian politician)\|Edward Hamilton]]. They were at the time in practice with [[Edward John Woods]],<ref>{{cite web \|title=Architect Personal Details: Wright, Edmund William\| website=Architects of South Australia \| publisher= [[University of South Australia]] \| date=2008 \| url=https://architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/arch_full.asp?Arch_ID=17 \|first=Christine \|last=Sullivan\| access-date=14 April 2024}}</ref> and [[Robert G. Thomas]] may have had a hand in the design.<ref name=AHDB/> ~~==New location==~~ On 14 October 2019, Adelaide's GPO was relocated to the adjacent 'GPO Exchange' tower at 10 Franklin St. The original building is planned to be turned into a retail and dining hub, with a 15-storey, 285-room [[Westin Hotels & Resorts\|Westin]] hotel to be built above it.<ref name="move">{{cite news \|last1=Villani \|first1=Celeste \|title=147 years of history farewelled as CBD GPO moves out of King William St home and into neighbouring tower▼ ▲[[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha\|Prince Alfred, The ~~clock~~Duke ~~tower~~of Edinburgh]], was ~~officially~~involved ~~named~~in ~~Victoria~~laying ~~Tower~~the byfoundation ~~Prince~~stone,<ref ~~Alfred~~name=AHDB>{{cite onweb 1\|url= ~~November~~http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;search=state%3DSA%3Blist_code%3DCHL%3Blegal_status%3D35%3Bkeyword_PD%3D0%3Bkeyword_SS%3D0%3Bkeyword_PH%3D0;place_id=105518 ~~1867~~\|title= ~~when~~Place heDetails: ~~laid~~Adelaide General Post Office, 141 King William St, Adelaide, SA, Australia \|work=Australian Heritage Database \|access-date= 12 Jan 2015}}</ref> who also officially named the ~~foundation~~[[clock ~~stone~~tower]] Victoria Tower on 1 November 1867.<ref>{{cite news \|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159514227 \|title=The Victoria Tower \|newspaper=[[Adelaide Observer]] \|volume=XXV \|issue=1361 \|location=South Australia \|date=2 November 1867 \|~~accessdate~~access-date=27 December 2016 \|page=4 (Supplement to the Adelaide Observer.) \|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The capstone<!--not linked as no suitable WP article. "capstone" links to coping (architecture), a different beast altogether--> was put in place at a ceremony on 25 May 1870. The height of the tower was put at {{convert\|154\|ft\|m\|1}}, a little taller than the Albert Tower of the [[Adelaide Town Hall\|Town Hall]] on the other side of King William Street.<ref>{{cite news \|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196731293 \|title=The New Post-Office Tower \|newspaper=[[Evening Journal (Adelaide)]] \|volume=II \|issue=423 \|location=South Australia \|date=26 May 1870 \|~~accessdate~~access-date=27 December 2016 \|page=3 \|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> \|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/city/147-years-of-history-farewelled-as-cbd-gpo-moves-out-of-king-william-st-home-and-into-neighbouring-tower/news-story/c51c969c5ba83b7043f9ea6a85edfe6b \|accessdate=21 October 2019 \|work=[[Messenger Newspapers]] \|date=10 October 2019}}</ref> ▲The original plans had the tower somewhat taller, but R. G. Thomas was obliged to redesign it, as a cost -saving measure.<ref>{{cite news \|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159561213 \|title=The Late Mr. R. G. Thomas \|newspaper=[[Adelaide Observer]] \|volume=XL \|issue=2168 \|location=South Australia \|date=21 April 1883 \|~~accessdate~~access-date=4 January 2017 \|page=34 \|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The building was extended in 1891-92.<ref>{{cite web \| title=Building Details: General Post Office \| website=Architects of South Australia \| publisher = [[University of South Australia]]\| url=https://architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/build_full.asp?B_ID=150 \| access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> There was also an office tower addition to the original post office in the 1920s.<ref name=duggan2023>{{cite web \| last=Duggan \| first=Lyndall \| title=GPO Hotel Progress Update – RCP Australia \| website=RCP Australia \| date=18 April 2023 \| url=https://www.rcp.net.au/2023/04/18/gpo-hotel-progress-update/ \| access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> ===Hotel=== ▲On 14 October 2019, Adelaide's GPO was relocated to the adjacent 'GPO Exchange' tower at 10 [[Franklin ~~St.~~Street, ~~The~~Adelaide\|Franklin ~~original~~Street]]. ~~building~~Plans iswere ~~planned~~announced tofor bethe ~~turned~~original ~~into~~building ato ~~retail and dining hub,~~have with a ~~15-storey, 285-room~~ [[Westin Hotels & Resorts\|Westin]] hotel ~~to be~~ built ~~above~~atop it.<ref name="move">{{cite news \|last1=Villani \|first1=Celeste \|title=147 years of history farewelled as CBD GPO moves out of King William St home and into neighbouring tower \|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/city/147-years-of-history-farewelled-as-cbd-gpo-moves-out-of-king-william-st-home-and-into-neighbouring-tower/news-story/c51c969c5ba83b7043f9ea6a85edfe6b \|access-date=21 October 2019 \|work=[[Messenger Newspapers]] \|date=10 October 2019}}</ref> In April 2021, South Australian premier [[Steven Marshall]] attended a [[Sod turning\|sod-turning]] ceremony, to mark the beginning of construction on the hotel. The hotel was estimated to cost {{AUD\|200}}, with property developer Greaton handling the construction.<ref>{{cite web \| last=Lennon \| first=Matt \| title=Marriott named to manage new Adelaide GPO hotel \| website=Hotel Management \| date=28 April 2021 \| url=https://www.hotelmanagement.com.au/2021/04/28/marriott-named-to-manage-new-adelaide-gpo-hotel/ \| access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> Designed by local architects Baukultur,<ref name=grogan2023/> the tower, on the site of the 1920s addition, will retain the entire original GPO building, with some sections incorporated into the new hotel. Upgrades to the structure as well as additional [[seismic retrofit]] have been added, to ensure the structural integrity of both the old and new buildings.<ref name=duggan2023/> The [[topping out]] ceremony took place in October 2023, and included an Aboriginal [[smoking ceremony]] by [[traditional owner]] representatives Kuma Kaaru.<ref name=grogan2023>{{cite web \| last=Grogan \| first=Ashley \| title=GPO Hotel Marriott project in Adelaide tops out \| website=Inside Construction \| date=12 October 2023 \| url=https://www.insideconstruction.com.au/construction-projects/updates/gpo-hotel-marriott-project-in-adelaide-tops-out/ \| access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> The 285-room, 14-story hotel opened as the Adelaide Marriott Hotel<ref>{{cite web \| title=Adelaide Marriott Hotel to open in 2024 \| website= Karryon \| date=13 December 2023 \| url=https://karryon.com.au/luxury/adelaide-marriott-hotel-to-open-2024/ \| access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web \| title=Marriott targets mid-2024 opening for its Adelaide debut \| website=Business News Australia \| date=11 December 2023 \| url=https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/articles/marriott-targets-mid-2024-opening-for-its-adelaide-debut-in-redeveloped-gpo-building.html \| access-date=19 April 2024}}</ref> on 22 August 2024.<ref>{{cite web \| url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/announcement/41011448.html \| title=Marriott International's 600th Property in APAC Opens in Adelaide }}</ref> ==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed"> File:Samuel Sweet - King William Street Adelaide, looking north from Victoria Square - Google Art Project.jpg\|1872. Looking north from Victoria Sq File:Adelaide town hall 1950.jpg\|1950. Looking NE from Victoria Sq with the GPO and Treasury buildings in the foreground Line 38 ⟶ 50: ==External links== *[https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/adlmc-adelaide-marriott-hotel/overview/ Adelaide Marriott Hotel official website] {{Commons category-inline}} Line 43 ⟶ 56: {{Australian Post Offices\|state=collapsed}} {{Adelaide landmarks}} ~~{{Adelaide-stub}}~~ ~~{{SouthAustralia-struct-stub}}~~ [[Category:Buildings and structures in Adelaide]] Line 53 ⟶ 63: [[Category:Neoclassical architecture in Australia]] [[Category:Post office buildings in South Australia\|Adelaide]] [[Category:Commonwealth Heritage List places in South Australia]] [[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1872]] [[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 2024]] [[Category:Hotels established in 2024]]