The five diamond Hallam Tower Hotel was constructed between 1963 and 1965 costing one million pound. It opened officially on 24th March 1965 and was the first luxury hotel to be built in the north of England since the Second World War. The chief architect was Nelson Foley of Trust House Architectural Department.
The exterior was designed to complement Sheffield’s post-war modernist developments; the interior by Colefax and Fowler of Mayfair offered “warm, gay colours” to contrast with “the black and grey tones of the city” and the first-class conference facilities supported the city’s bid to become a conference centre.
The following snippets of text are taken from the original Press Release (16th March 1965).
Entrance Lounge 'Sunny yellow stairwell. Bright green carpet'
Vulcan Room Restaurant 'Tones of orange, yellow, pale wrapping paper brown and sour green, the walls yellow the carpet green.'
Downstairs Bar 'A dark intimate room with a club-like atmosphere enlivened by turquoise blue upholstery. Dark lincrusta walls. 18th century Horgarth engravings. Silver Trimmings.'
Sheffield Plate Grill 'Here the open plan ends and a completely contrasting colour rendering is achieved by use of pink, red, black and white. The wall decorations consist of a series of Sheffield trade signs, none of them later than 1910 and most of them mid-19th century.'
(All paintings by John Worsley c. 1964.)
