| Empress Hotel | |
| Address: | 714 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy North, Victoria |
| Coordinates: | -37.7828°N 144.9778°W |
| Opened: | 1873 |
The Empress Hotel[1] (formerly the Empress of India Hotel) is a pub located at 714 Nicholson Street, in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy North. The Empress Hotel closed in December 2013,[2] and reopened in its current form in early 2015.[3]
The pub was opened in 1873 by John Bourke, and named in honour of Queen Victoria, who had been proclaimed the Empress of India on 1 January 1877.[4] Until the late 20th century, it was frequented by employees of the nearby North Fitzroy tram depot.
In the late 1980s, it became a live music venue, and played a part in the Melbourne indie rock scene through the 90s and 2000s. In its last decade as a music venue, hotel management had to deal with noise complaints from residents who had moved nearby without realising it was a music venue. In February 2015 the venue reopened with a traditional bar, a dining area and an open air beer garden.