One of Melbourne's last surviving "old-school" pubs, the Great Western Hotel, is a retro watering hole on King Street that has remained unchanged for decades.
It is a place where customers leave their cash in neat piles on the bar and their $5 pots are refilled without them having to ask.
Until recently you could buy a pub meal and beer for just $10. Every Wednesday the special was sausages and mashed potato.
But after what is believed to be more than 150-years of continual operation as a pub, an application has been filed to demolish the gold-rush era venue and replace it with an apartment tower.
Developer Jin Yi Pty Ltd wants to squeeze 26-storeys onto the tiny site which, at 325 square metres, is smaller than a basketball court.
Heritage groups say they will fight the proposal, alarmed that too many of Melbourne's old pubs are being knocked down for apartment projects.
The National Trust and Melbourne Heritage Action are calling for City of Melbourne to apply for interim heritage protection for the pub, previously known as the Star of the West.
"If Melbourne is to uphold its reputation as a liveable city, we need to protect the places that make it vibrant and an exciting place to live, work and visit — places that tell the story of our city," National Trust of Australia chief executive Simon Ambrose said.
Although the hotel is thought to date back to 1864, less than 30 years after the city was founded, the building does not have any heritage protection.
The site has been noted by Heritage Victoria for its potential archaeological value.
Archaeologist Gary Vines said it was interesting that while the heritage of the building was not recognised while standing, "when it's demolished its archaeology is something people are interested in".
Mr Vines said the dig could take anywhere between a couple of weeks and several months depending on how well preserved the site was and 19th-century toilets could provide a historical treasure-trove.
"The cesspit in the backyard often contains broken bottles, crockery, coins, toys, buttons and other smaller bits and pieces," he said.
A council spokeswoman said while it would "strongly encourage the applicant to retain part or all of the building, we can only make a decision on this application based on the current planning controls".
The hotel's leaseholder, Glenn Day, said he would hand the pub back to its owners in early March, fundamentally unchanged from when he took it over 14 year ago - except for the sales figures.
In his early days the pub sold up to 42 barrels of beer a week, now it is around 12 to 15.
"It's just a culture change," Mr Day said. "The older generation that used come and have a beer at lunch time and have a beer after work are mostly now retired.
"The young kids now go play sports or go to the gym."
The pub has been a long-term haunt for barristers and solicitors from the nearby the court district, and journalists covering courts and crime, though tradies in their fluoro shirts and boots were just as welcome.
"It was a pub where there were no airs and graces," said Steve Butcher, a former court reporter with The Age and Truth newspapers.
"It didn't sell pints of international beer for $18. Those that wanted to have a bet could have a bet, and you could have smoke in the beer garden."
"It was very old fashioned and simple."
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