Editorial: It's farewell to grand old Albert

The grand old Albert is no more.

The corner of Karamu Rd and Heretaunga St now boasts more sky.

What was the two-storey Hastings landmark known as the Albert Hotel is gone but for the grace of a few stoic native timber frames and a ribcage of weatherboard.

I once referred to it as a "grand old lady" but was told off by a reader as "Albert" is a male name. Quite right.

So who was Albert?

Its builder and first proprietor, William Dennett, an Australian immigrant, assumedly came up with its designation. Most likely it was a nod to Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861 - 21 years before his namesake pub was built. The verandah's Union Jack infill balustrade also suggests the hotel was indeed one of a long line of New Zealand pubs with royal signatures.

Right now the CBD corner is cordoned off and resembles a requiem point. People stop and stare as an iron tyrannosaurus chews through the rubble.

There's no right-minded individual who thinks it shouldn't come down. But equally, there's no right-minded individual who thinks we were right, in the preceding decades, to ignore the grand old chap's insidious decay. Its cultural significance and heritage value was rich long before its 1982 centenary.

One can't help but wonder what the fate would have been if this hotel was Art Deco in style and situated on a prominent Napier corner. The municipal salvage would have been, I imagine, unequivocally swift.

But a post mortem is futile.

Besides, despite working just down the road for the better part of a decade, I failed to step inside. Not once. Not a single pint. Idiot.

The mantle has been passed and the question arises - which now, is the city's newest oldest building?