Empress Hotel, Fitzroy North
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The Empress Hotel<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>(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,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and reopened in its current form in early 2015.<ref>Just Open: Empress Hotel, Fitzroy North, By Hilary McNevin, 12 February 2015</ref>
History
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.