WORCESTER'S new Central Hotel and Restaurant was completed and opened at this time exactly 100 years ago.
This latest prestigious addition to the city scene took the form of a five-storey structure of terra-cotta and red brick at the corner of High Street and St Swithin's Street.
It later became the Cadena Caf for many years - a convivial meeting place for generations of Worcester people to meet over coffee and cafes - and now forms the offices of the Alliance and Leicester.
Berrow's Journal for this week of 1903 reported: "The new Central Hotel and Restaurant is now completed. It is a very handsome structure, built with cinnamon-coloured terracotta and red bricks in the English Renaissance style, the generally satisfactory appearance having been obtained by good fenestration and picturesque treatment of the sky lines, and without being much embellished with ornament.
"There are 20 bedrooms, refreshment bars, grill rooms, tea rooms and two lock-up shops. This scale of facilities could only be obtained by making the structure five storeys high above the pavement. The foundations are 15ft deep below street level, making the building free from vibration caused by extra heavy traffic.
"In the basement there are large, well-lighted grill and billiard rooms, steam boilers for cooking and warming purposes, and the electrical apparatus for the luggage lift. The ground floor is occupied by a public bar, nicely fitted up, and on the first floor there is a commercial room, ladies' tea room and a large refreshment bar, the windows of which command fine views of the streets.
"The second and third floors contain 15 bed and sitting rooms and a bathroom, while the top floor, which is entirely in the roof, has further bedrooms with extensive views of the country within a radius of 15 miles.
"Messrs. Joseph Wood and Sons of Worcester were the contractors for the entire structure and fittings, and the whole work has been extremely well carried out, practically within the time allowed for the contract.
"The entire property belongs to the Worcester Municipal Charities and is leased for a long term of years to the County and City of Worcester Coffee Tavern Company."
Share