The grand city pubs Adelaide was built on — how they looked then and how they look now

A CENTURY before Adelaide’s small bar boom, the city had over 100 pubs. We look at the old ale houses still standing — some continuing to serve cold beer, others repurposed. See our incredible photo sliders.

Then: The old Black Horse Hotel in Leigh St ... the street looks very different today. Picture: SA State Library

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FANCY a beer at Maccas? In the 1970s, the building that is home to the 24-hour McDonalds on Hindley St was The Eagle Hotel, a popular watering hole on the strip.

Aside from the infamous golden arches adorning the exterior, the building these days is still very similar to the popular pub that used to stand there.

In fact, Hindley St over 150 years ago was already a hugely popular drinking strip.

By 1861 there were 111 licensed houses in Adelaide compared to just 60 now — this included 17 in Hindley St alone.

But there is one pub that predates them all — and you can still grab a beer there today. Originally known as Guthries, which opened its doors in 1837, the Edinburgh Castle on Currie St still operates as a popular nightspot for live music — including its oft frequented beer garden in the warmer months.

Leigh St, now a popular laneway with its small bars, was known for one in the 1800s which quite possibly had the coolest name of all — the Black Horse Inn.

The hotel opened in 1847 as Foresters Inn and the name was changed in 1849 to Black Horse Inn which was licensed until 1906 and demolished about 1908, according to the State Library of SA.

Other pubs that unfortunately met the bulldozer include The Criterion Hotel on King William St, The Aurora Hotel in Hindmarsh Square and The Hotel Thistle on Waymouth St — replaced by Peppers Hotel.

Australian Hotels Association SA general manager Ian Horne said there is a large number of pubs from yesteryear still standing on their original footings despite many having dramatic makeovers.

However their roles have changed from what they played a century ago, when pubs did much more than simply house the much sought after amber liquid.

“Pubs in those days were required to accept a corpse if directed by the police, in cellars, I guess, to keep everything cool,” he said.

“They were also required to house and feed the horse of travellers staying at the pub ... it’s amazing how many have survived given the modernisation movement of the post 1960s.”

And the clientele was very different back in the day.

Before 1908, females could serve behind the bar but in that year legislation passed to prohibit them from doing so, unless related to the licensee, and only men were permitted to drink in public bars until the 1970s, when almost 100 years of gender segregation ended.

Mr Horne adds the checking of ID may have been a little more relaxed.

“The drinking laws also were 15 years of age up to 1907 and 12 in 1863,” he said.

Now: How Leigh St looks today.

But while the patronage of pubs may have changed over the years, Mr Horne says they continue to remain an integral part of community.

“Certainly that’s reflected in the recent research from the SA Centre for Economic Studies,’’ he says.

“26,250 people employed directly, $1.23 billion in purchases of liquor, food and beverage from mostly local suppliers, and $664m in capital expenditure in the last five years.

Looking back: The old Tavistock Hotel in Rundle Street as it looked in 1902. Picture: SA State Library

“Pubs remain major supporters of football and netball teams, Rotary and Lions, charities of all types, and a recent Music SA census says 82 per cent of all live music gigs are in traditional hotels ..,” Mr Horne says.

“You bet they still play a significant role.”

For more of Adelaide’s lost pubs, check out the State Library’s Flickr page

https://www.flickr.com/photos/state_library_south_australia/sets/72157648540426502/