About Criterion Hotel
All rights reserved with Criterion Hotel-2009
The Crieterion Hotel was built in 1877 to an elaborate Victorian
Italianate design by Messrs.
Thomas Forester and John Lemon, and traded as a hotel 1906 when prohibition was introduced
to the waitaki
district. The Criterion then operated as a temperance hotel. By the 1930's the building was
deemed unfit for a boarding house, and about adecade later Gillies Foundry and Engineering
Co. Ltd purchased it for storage. Apparently, a ground floor room was used as a confectionery and soft drinks shop during
this time. Thereafter, the old 'grande
&
dame' of Tyne St by now weathered to a ecclesiastical grey
and shorn of roofline ornamentation,
was left to decline gracefully.
In 1987 the Criterion recieved Historic Places trust registration. The Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust lated acquired the building,
scraped down and sealed the facade, refurbished the interior and restored the
balustrade to it's former glory.
Today, looking resplendent, The Criterion Hotel, complete with public bar, snug and victorion themed
accommodation rooms provides locals and visitors alike with the taste and ambience of bygone era.
Situated right in the heart of Oamaru's Historic Precinct, the Criterion Hotel is perfect base from which to explore this area
and waitaki District
-PETER AND MANDI TIMMO - (THE HOST)