Gold Coast’s lost past: 5 landmarks that have already been demolished

THE Gold Coast, it could be argued, is not very good at preserving its past ... with the beginning of a grassroots campaign to save one of the city’s oldest shops, here’s five landmarks already lost.

Going, going, gone ... the Gold Coast, some could argue, has not often cared for its past.

THE Gold Coast, it could be argued, is not very good at preserving its past ... with the beginning of a grassroots campaign to save one of the city’s oldest shops, here’s five landmarks already lost.

Miami Ice

Miami Ice.

THE historic Gold Coast landmark, which gained national attention appearing on John Farnham’s Two Strong Hearts music video. The ice works was built in 1947 using two former army huts and the buildings had become an iconic structure on the corner of Gold Coast Highway and Kratzman Ave. It was demolished in 2013 despite community attempts to save it. A development application has been lodged to build a high-rise on the site.

Surfers Paradise Hotel

Surfers Paradise Hotel circa the 1950s. Supplied photo.

Jim Cavill’s famous hotel became the centre of Surfers Paradise’s night-life when it opened in the 1920s.

It continued to be a popular venue through the late 20th century following Cavill’s death, even as the skyline began to change with high-rises.

It was finally demolished in the early 1980s to make way for the Eddie Kornhauser’s Paradise Centre.

El Dorado

The El Dorado Motel.

The El Dorado was Surfers Paradise’s first motel, built in 1954 near the Gold Coast Highway on the site now occupied by the Crowne Plaza. It had just 12 rooms, flat roofs and was built of materials typical of the post-World War II period, including asbestos and cement cladding.

It was demolished in the 1980s to make way for the Crowne Plaza.

Chevron Hotel

Chevron Hotel in 1958.

The pet project of Polish-born developer Stanley Korman, it opened its first accommodation in June 1957. By September, a second accommodation wing had opened, as well as the Skyline Bar, one of the era’s major entertainment venues. The Chevron Hotel continued trading until the mid-1980s. It was demolished in 1987.

Magic Mountain

Magic Mountain castle. Supplied photo.

Originally opened as a chairlift in 1962, Magic Castle opened in the mid-1970s and became one of the Gold Coast’s most popular landmarks. After an expansion in the early 1980s, the mark closed in 1987, before briefly reopening in the early 1990s. By 1993 the site had fallen into disrepair and it was redeveloped to become units.