27 September 2010

The Fall of the Gateway Motel

| johnboy
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[First filed: Sep 25, 2010 @ 15:59]

Gateway ruins

Owen has sent this in with the following note:

Like some bombed out German City, the City Gateway Motel is half demolished to make way for apartments. Just seems like yesterday it was built. It was pricey accommodation out from the city center, guess that was part of its problem.

ps.

(If you go to their website http://www.citygateway.com.au/ you will be informed that “they are building a new improved website”. Guess it’s not about to happen.)

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I was Maitre’D at Rhiannon’s at the City Gate in 1987-1988. Under general manager Paul Weeks we operated very efficiently and worked harmoniously.
The owner was the developer Ivan Krisaic who built Eagle Hawke Hotel over the border. I remember Col Joye, Judy Stone, The Choir Boys, Spy Vs Spy, Barry Crocker and other celebrities who stayed there.
The Esanda Rally was a standout because of the characters and I can recall a mechanic saying he could change a Mazda 323 gearbox in 15 minutes (and he asked where mine was parked)
In those days people would line Northbourne Ave/Anthill St for the cars cruising in for Summernats. The cars would drag off at the lights.
The property was sold so we all lost our jobs.

creative_canberran9:54 pm 28 Sep 10

pepmeup said :

In the info they sent out to investors the body corporate fees were about $4000 for each 1 bedroom flat. so thats $80 a week added to the rent. Given they were all bought by investors it should be good for renters when the whole 350 come onto the market.

Excellent, more shoe boxes down the wrong end of town.

The new apartments being built are the axis development, They are being sold by the Independent Property Group, the first 2 towers all sold the day of release, bought up by hungry investors. The new towers (3) should be finished in 2013 so investors bought in at today’s prices and don’t have to pay until 2013.

I’m not sure that it is really that great of a location, it is still a long walk to the city or a Drive to anywhere else.

In the info they sent out to investors the body corporate fees were about $4000 for each 1 bedroom flat. so thats $80 a week added to the rent. Given they were all bought by investors it should be good for renters when the whole 350 come onto the market.

creative_canberran6:01 pm 27 Sep 10

wishuwell said :

creative_ ???? suggest Jon English.

I can’t make out the photos, so those names are what the original creator of the image identified them as.

wishuwell said :

creative_ ???? suggest Jon English.

Looks like Bobby Rivers to me

creative_ ???? suggest Jon English.

georgesgenitals12:48 pm 27 Sep 10

A good thing having Maccas downstairs. It’s better overall value than a lot of the inner north independents, that’s for sure.

Summernats was the only thing keeping the Gateway alive.

It’s taken over a week so far to demolish, maybe they should have used explosives…….

And I suppose if they put a MACCAS on the ground floor, it will save people a 500m walk across to Dickson.

My family moved to Canberra in 1980 and I remember the Gateway being built. It definitely was built in the mid-eighties. Great spot for new apartments.

I arrived in Canberra (Dickson/Downer area) in 1978 and seem to remember Gateway being built so I’m pretty sure it must be post ’78. I can’t for the life of me remember what was there before though.

Holden Caulfield10:39 pm 26 Sep 10

I think the Gateway jumped the shark when they put astroturf on the wall/bulkhead above the entry.

creative_canberran said :

The Gateway is without a doubt a 1970s era building, maybe even earlier.

A little earlier I think ! The builder, Crisack(?), built a lot houses in Canberra at the time. 20k for a new house on the outskirts of Canberra (Chapman)

creative_canberran3:56 pm 26 Sep 10

P.S. The Canberra Rex was built in 1960. The font used for the 1960s era sign on the Rex was conspicuously similar to that use on the side of the Gateway, it’s a 1960s era sign.

creative_canberran3:52 pm 26 Sep 10

Some fairly big names apparently called the City Gateway home at times: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/26/25/fc/some-of-the-stars-that.jpg

(left to right, from top row): Frank Ifield, Sandy Scott, the Delltones, Mal Meninga (rugby league legend), Ronnie Corbett (British comedian), Wikety Wak (Brisbane show band from the 1980’s), ????, and hypnotist Martin St James.

I believe construction of the Pavilion began 1986. The Gateway is without a doubt a 1970s era building, maybe even earlier.

Ronnie are you sure it wasn’t the Pavilion next to the ABC in Northbourne you were taken to? That was regarded as flash when it was built in the mid 1980s – had an indoor jungle and was indeed quite ostentatious. The Gateway was always a very cheap building & cheap accommodation. I can’t picture anyone oohing and aahing over the Gateway, but the Pavilion (I think it had another name back then) got lots of attention. And it got the endorsement of nearby journos – I’m told the news director waddled over every midday after the production meeting for a three-hour sit-down at the bar before having to go back to work when the news footage trickled in …

terubo said :

And about time. I stayed there several years ago, it was sub-par.

A couple of friends and rellos who’ve stayed there said it was an overpriced dump. It should have been demolished years ago.

As a child my father drove me up to the Gateway to have a look at it when it first opened. There were loads of people oohing and aahing over it – back then it was considered pretty flash!!!

The new arc-shaped residential towers that will replace it look OK – c.350 apartments.

There is a development sign up on northbourne ave, it states that they will be building serveced apartments there, That doesnt mean Maccas will not be apart of it could be like James court in the city. That building would only be about 25 years old at best I went to Lyneham High in the 80s and i think it was built about 85or86.

I heard MACCAS was going on the site.

Normally I’m the first to be sad to see older buildings go – hell, I even think those horrendously unpopular flats along Northbourne have some historical/architectural value. But man was that hotel ever an unattractive “gateway” to the city. No great loss.

Of course they are building a new web-site. They need to tell people they can’t get a room anymore.

Load of shite architecture it was too. People need to think more significant and lasting.

And about time. I stayed there several years ago, it was sub-par.

On a destroying roll!

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