Queen Street and the United Service Hotel
1873 (Clarke Brothers) – 2026
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Historical image: Alexander Turnbull Library 1/2-105472F
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The scene shows the aftermath of the 6 September 1873 fire that destroyed numerous buildings on the western side of Queen Street, on both sides of Wellesley Street. Among them was the United Service Hotel on the Wellesley Street corner. The hotel building seen here was a temporary one which served until the United Service Hotel was rebuilt in 1875.
Below: The United Service Hotel (right) as it was in the 1860s. Wellesley Street is at left. Click here for a then-and-now treatment of this picture.
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira | Wellesley St, unknown photographer, 1860s, PH-ALB-94-P29-1 (detail)
For a photograph showing the rebuilt hotel as it was in the 1880s, see a Burton Brothers image here.
