{{Short description|Former building in Adelaide, South Australia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox building | name = Jubilee Exhibition Building | native_name = | native_name_lang = | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = Jubilee Exhibition Building 1885.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = | etymology = | status = Demolished | cancelled = | topped_out = | building_type = | architectural_style = | classification = | location = [[North Terrace, Adelaide]] | address = | location_city = | location_country = Australia | coordinates = {{coord|34.920544|S|138.606188|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | altitude = | current_tenants = | namesake = | groundbreaking_date = | construction_start_date = 1885 | topped_out_date = | completion_date = 1887 | opened_date = 20 June 1887<ref name=staircase>{{cite web|url=http://adelaidecityexplorer.com.au/items/show/59|title=Jubilee Exhibition Building: Staircase - Adelaide City Explorer|website=Adelaide City Explorer}}</ref> | inauguration_date = | relocated_date = | renovation_date = | closing_date = | demolished_date = 1962 | cost = £20,217 (1887)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/build_full.asp?B_ID=304|title=Architects of South Australia - Building Details|website=www.architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au}}</ref> | ren_cost = | client = | owner = | landlord = | affiliation = | height = | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = | top_floor = | observatory = | diameter = | circumference = | weight = | other_dimensions = | structural_system = | material = | size = | floor_count = | floor_area = | elevator_count = | grounds_area = | architect = | architecture_firm = | developer = | engineer = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = | awards = | designations = | known_for = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_engineer = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_contractor = | ren_awards = | seating_type = | seating_capacity = | number_of_rooms = | parking = | url = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | embed = | embedded = | references = | footnotes = }} The '''Jubilee Exhibition Building''' in [[Adelaide]], South Australia, was built to celebrate the [[Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria|50th anniversary]] of [[Queen Victoria]]'s accession to the throne on 20 June 1837. The jubilees of her [[Coronation]] on 28 June 1838, and of the [[Proclamation Day (South Australia)|Proclamation of South Australia]] on 28 December 1836, were also invoked on occasion.
The building, increasingly referred to as the '''Exhibition Building''', was located opposite the corner of [[North Terrace, Adelaide|North Terrace]] and [[Pulteney Street]].<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Sands & McDougall |title=Directory of South Australia |year=1962}}</ref> on what is now the [[University of Adelaide]]'s North Terrace campus, between [[Bonython Hall]] and the old School of Mines building (now [[University of South Australia]]'s City East campus) on the Frome Road corner. It was opened on 20 June 1887 and was used until the mid 1920s. In 1929 the land and building were transferred to the University, and the building was demolished in 1962 to make way for the Napier building. There were two fountains in front of the building. One is now located in front of the [[Rundle Mall]] entrance to the [[Adelaide Arcade]], the other in the [[Creswell Gardens]].<ref name=staircase/>
== Planning == The idea of [[South Australia]] hosting an international exhibition as a patriotic gesture was promoted in the early 1880s, culminating in a Bill which was passed by Parliament in 1883. Subsequent opposition to the scheme on the grounds of the expense involved saw the Bill being repealed in 1884, and Sir [[Edwin T. Smith]] pushed for a less grandiose celebration, which resulted in the Act of 1885, and the voting of £32,000 for a permanent Exhibition Building, which after the Jubilee would become the home of the [[South Australian Institute]].
As originally conceived by Government Architect [[E. J. Woods]], the new building was to have a dome {{convert|112 |feet|m}} wide, an art gallery, {{convert|46 by 252 |feet|m}}, a court {{convert|120 by 43| feet|m}} with a gallery round it of {{convert|10 |feet|m}} width. A basement below this section {{convert|10 |feet|m}} high, three open courts for lighting and ventilation, each {{convert|120 by 66|feet|m}} by {{convert|40 |feet|m}} high. Height of the dome {{convert|80 |feet|m}}, {{convert|127 |feet|m}} from the floor to the crown of the inner dome, and {{convert|192| feet|m}} from the floor line to the apex of the dome externally.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43607980 |title=Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |volume=XLVIII |issue=11,550 |location=South Australia |date=20 November 1883 |accessdate=29 May 2016 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
==Design and construction== [[File:Jubilee_Exhibition_Building_Night_1920.jpg|right|thumb|The Jubilee Exhibition Building at night in 1920.]] [[File:Adelaide University 1926 map.jpg|thumb|North Terrace institutions in 1926. Exhibition Building is second from right.]] [[File:North Terrace, Adelaide aerial view 1930.jpg|thumb|North Terrace, Adelaide 1930]] The architects chosen were Withall & Wells, and W. Rogers the builder. The corner-stone was laid on 21 June 1886.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46098345 |title=The Formal Ceremonies |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |volume=LII |issue=12,669 |location=South Australia |date=22 June 1887 |accessdate=29 May 2016 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Interest from exhibitors in the lead-up to the Jubilee meant that the building had to be extended during the construction process, but the building was completed, and filled with manufactures and produce from around the globe, within the year, well in time for the opening of the Festival on 21 June 1887. A [[Jubilee Exhibition Railway|railway line]] connecting the [[Adelaide railway station]] to the grounds behind the Exhibition Building passed under [[King William Road, Adelaide|King William Road]] and ran between the [[Torrens Parade Ground]] and [[Government House, Adelaide|Government House]].
== Queen Victoria’s Jubilee == During the 1887 Jubilee 789,672 visitors passed through the exhibition. The building housed 2,200 exhibitions (valued at approximately £500,000) from 26 different countries. The [[Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition]] was one of few major exhibitions in Australia where all the costs, totalling £66,000, were covered.
== Royal Adelaide Show == The Jubilee Exhibition Building and [[Jubilee Oval (Adelaide)|Jubilee Oval]] was the home of the [[Royal Adelaide Show]] from 1895 to 1925.
== Other uses == The building and grounds have been used for a variety of events and purposes, including: *In November 1889 the whole of the basement (one third of the building's floor area) was handed over to the [[South Australian School of Mines and Industries]] to accommodate the rising demand for quality vocational training. Though timely, this expedient was less than satisfactory, and not solved until 1903, when the purpose-built school was opened on the Frome Road corner.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4928117 |title=School of Mines |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)]] |location=South Australia |date=24 February 1903 |access-date=28 January 2020 |page=5 |via=Trove }}</ref>
*From 1910 to 1916 the Education Department's [[Adelaide School of Art]], conducted by [[H. P. Gill]], was conducted in the Exhibition Building,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5249307 |title=Education Department |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)]] |location=South Australia |date=3 September 1910 |access-date=28 January 2020 |page=8 |via=Trove }}</ref> though under sufferance, as there was no heating in winter.
*On Saturday 2 December 1911, [[Wondergraph]] opened its new "Picture Pavilion" opposite the Exhibition Building. This was a seated outdoor [[picture theatre]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5309069 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)]] |volume=LIV |issue=16,575 |location=South Australia |date=30 November 1911 |access-date=27 December 2022 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> which showed [[silent film]]s.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105203944 |title=New Wondergraph Pavilion. |newspaper=[[Daily Herald (Adelaide)]] |volume=2 |issue=545 |location=South Australia |date=2 December 1911 |access-date=27 December 2022 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> The venue continued to operate for several years until at least 1919, lending itself to other uses as well.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article106511778 |title=Three stars |newspaper=[[Daily Herald (Adelaide)]] |volume=9 |issue=2652 |location=South Australia |date=19 September 1918 |access-date=27 December 2022 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60375589 |title=Religious notes. |newspaper=[[The Register (Adelaide)]] |volume=LXXXIII |issue=22,406 |location=South Australia |date=31 August 1918 |access-date=27 December 2022 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5618704 |title=Wondergraph. |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)]] |volume=LXI |issue=18,789 |location=South Australia |date=2 January 1919 |access-date=27 December 2022 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215866359 |title=Waddy well walloped. |newspaper=[[The Sport (Adelaide newspaper)| The Sport]] |volume=X |issue=477 |location=South Australia |date=25 July 1919 |access-date=27 December 2022 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>
*In February 1919 at the outbreak of the [[Spanish flu|Spanish flu pandemic]] the Exhibition Building became the Exhibition Isolation Hospital. It was heavily criticised by medical staff and was no longer needed once isolation wards had been opened at the nearby Adelaide Hospital, and by late November 1919 when the last admission to the Exhibition hospital took place, 588 patients had been admitted, of whom 68 died from the disease.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63123685 |title=Exhibition Hospital and Infectious Diseases Block |newspaper=[[The Register (Adelaide)]] |location=South Australia |date=2 December 1919 |access-date=28 January 2020 |page=6 |via=Trove }}</ref>
*In November 1934, [[S.A. Theatres]] opened Adelaide's first outdoor [[talkie]] theatre in the Exhibition Grounds, known as the Chinese Gardens owing to the Chinese-themed decor.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128465254 |title=Gala premiere of new theatre |newspaper=[[News (Adelaide)]] |volume=XXIII |issue=3,545 |location=South Australia |date=29 November 1934 |access-date=25 December 2022 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74112871 |title=Adelaide to have outdoor talkie theatre |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)]] |location=South Australia |date=27 October 1934 |access-date=25 December 2022 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> The last recorded show appears to have taken place in April 1938.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30861562 |title=Star Theatres today |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)]] |location=South Australia |date=18 April 1938 |access-date=25 December 2022 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref>
*In 1949 the Motor Vehicles Department, with its staff of 100 and records relating to 143,000 vehicles and 147,000 licensed drivers, as well as archived files, moved to the Exhibition Building from the state government offices on [[Victoria Square, Adelaide|Victoria Square]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130247733 |title=Motor Vehicles Dept Moving to Exhibition |newspaper=[[The News (Adelaide)]] |location=South Australia |date=12 April 1949 |access-date=28 January 2020 |page=7 |via=Trove }}</ref> By 1962, just before demolition, the public offices of this department were located in the Railways building.<ref>{{cite book|title=Directory of South Australia |year=1962 |publisher=Sands and MacDougall Pty Ltd}}</ref>
== Demolition == The building was demolished in 1962, making way for the [[Napier Building]], part of the [[University of Adelaide]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Ntafillis | first=Viki | title=Thebarton Police Barracks to join list of Adelaide architectural wonders that have disappeared | website=[[ABC News (Australia)]]| date=24 February 2023 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-25/buildings-of-adelaide-that-have-disappeared-like-police-barracks/101956678 | access-date=22 April 2023}}</ref>
==See also== *[[List of destroyed heritage]]
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:1880s in South Australia]] [[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1887]] [[Category:Neoclassical architecture in Australia]] [[Category:Victorian architecture in South Australia]] [[Category:1887 establishments in Australia]] [[Category:1962 disestablishments in Australia]] [[Category:World's fair architecture in Australia]] [[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1962]] [[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in South Australia]] [[Category:Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria]]