Overview#
The York Coffee palace occupied part of a building on the corner of Wellington Street and Queen Streets in the city business district of Perth. The main railway station is further along Wellington Street, perhaps 800 meters to the right.
We have a pencil sketch of the building, from July 1926. It is proudly labelled the Molinari Building, being now owned by Bernardo Molinari. The ground floor advertises a Wine Salon, and the Caprera Restaurant and, somewhat incongruously, a produce merchant. The first story clearly provides residential accommodation.
A detailed history of the building is available on the WA Heritage Council website. The building was initially constructed about 1896. It was damaged by a fire in 1950, but repaired. The history finishes about 2015, at which stage it still provided budget accommodation. Google Maps (2025) shows everthing has been demolished and the complete block is a bare site waiting redevelopment.
An architectural enthusiast has provided a 2014 photo of the building (in its backpacker hotel phase), together with another history.
Coffee Palace#
The term coffee palace had a particular vogue in Australia, used for what was otherwise known as a temperance hotel. In Perth, some 20 coffee palaces were listed by 1904 and they seemed to fill part of the market for residential accommodation as people poured into the state during and after the gold rush of the 1890s. Perhaps they were somewhat simpler and cheaper to run, not needing to meet the onerous requirements of a full publicans licence.
York Coffee Palace#
The first link to the institution is buried in page 8 of The West Australian of 6 February 1900. In an advertisement for the York Coffee Palace (corner of Wellington and Queen Streets). Mrs. Bowes announces that she offers
First class accommodation. Single and double rooms. Mechanics and tradesmen will find the above a suitable home.
In October 1901 a new licencee, a Mrs Vick, was fined for the kitchen being unclean.
On page 9 of The West Australian of 7 March 1905 one Michael Lavelle applied for an Eating-House licence for the premises.
In February 1906 the then licensee Michael Lavelle went bankrupt.
In page 17 of The West Australian of 10 March 1906, Giovanni Gettaz was awarded a colonial wine licence for the premises.
Buried in page 2 of The West Australian of 16 January 1917 is a public notice to transfer both the Eating House Licence and the Australian Wine Lincnce associated with the York Coffee Palace, from Giovanni Gettaz to Giacomo Pianta.
Buried in page 3 of The West Australian of 29 August 1917 is a similar public notice, seeking to transfer the same licences from Giacomo Pianta to one Antonio De Giovanni. It seems that the application was successful.
Buried in page 6 of The West Australian of 20 April 1920:
Yesterday morning, before the chairman of the Perth Licensing Bench (Mr. T. F. Davies, P.M.), an application was made for the transfer of an Australian wine licence from Antonio Giovanni to Bernardo Molinari. Mr. M. G. Lavan made the application. Inspector O’Halloran opposed the transference on the ground that the applicant had been convicted of breaches of the Licensing Act during the past six months. The hearing was adjourned sine die.
On 26 April 1920 it was reported that the application had been refused.
On page 1 of The West Australian of 3 September 1920 application is made to transfer the Australian Wine Licence from Peter Porcelli to Bernardo Molinari.