Heidelberg Heritage Association honours historic hotel with blue plaque for heritage
The Heidelberg Crown Hotel, which has undergone many name changes, has been a mainstay in Heidelberg.
The Heidelberg Heritage Association awarded the latest blue plaque for heritage to the Heidelberg Crown Hotel.
The plaque is number 84 in the series of heritage sites.
The hotel is located at the corner of Voortrekker and Jacobs streets. The first hotel, built in 1896, was the President Hotel. Later it changed names and became the Grand Hotel.
It was frequented by a lot of guests during the second Anglo Boer War.
The belief is that the first name, President Hotel was named after President Paul Kruger. Kruger was one of the Driemanskap that hoisted the Vierkleur in Heidelberg in 1880.
The other members of the Driemanskap were Piet Joubert and Marthinus Pretorius. From 1880 to 1883 Heidelberg was the capital of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek.
Kruger died on July 14, 1904, in Clarens, Montreux, Switzerland. After Kruger died the name changed to the Grand Hotel.
The building was demolished in 1930 to make way for the new Art Deco building.
The possibility is there that the building was designed by Gerhard Moerdyk. Moerdyk is well-known for designing the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria.
There was another name change years later and it became the Heidelberg Hotel. The hotel had 33 bedrooms, two bars, a billiard room, a lounge and a dining room.
The communal bathrooms were in the hall at that stage. In the 1940/50s the hotel was owned by Mr and Mrs Shevel.
The hotel was vacant for a long period and is now the Heidelberg Crown Hotel.
In addition to the hotel, the Grill King restaurant is also on the premises. The original fireplace can still be found in the building.
The plaque’s sponsor is Albert Grobler.
