Former Kings Coffee House and Gaskell Memorial Tower

The building is a former coffee house and council offices, incorporating the Gaskell Memorial Tower, now used as a restaurant. It was constructed between 1907 and 1908 by W Longworth for Richard Harding Watt. The exterior is built from coursed and squared buff sandstone rubble with flat roofs.

The architectural style is eclectic Italianate. The building has an asymmetrical layout; the council chamber forms the main range, with the Gaskell Memorial Tower projecting forward to the left and the former coffee house projecting to the right, creating a small courtyard between them. A screen wall with a pantiled roof encloses the courtyard to the right. Facing onto King Street are four windows for the former coffee house and ballroom which opens onto the courtyard. A screen of Roman Doric columns closes the courtyard to the rear.

The main entrance is located at the corner of the coffee house block within a recessed porch. The corner is supported by an octagonal column bearing inscriptions in various typefaces and richly carved low relief bands. An oriel window with small panes sits alongside, with three windows above a stepped parapet.

The tower to the left features an external staircase, a small, curved bow window on the ground floor, and an upper window divided by a heavy transom. The tower is topped by a dome supported on an open lantern. A recessed courtyard lies behind the tower, with windows of the council offices in the rear range. The Gaskell Memorial Tower closes this central courtyard. The tower’s white stone changes to yellow sandstone above the first floor, and features a recessed bow window on the ground floor and a bust in a niche on the first floor. A square oriel window is offset above, with randomly projecting blocks and a bronze bust on the inner face. Above this, the tower is constructed in white stone, with a square oriel window. Inscriptions are positioned above and below the bust. The upper storey has arcaded windows, and the upper stage is articulated by pilasters. A gateway leading to a passage adjoins the tower to the left, with a pantiled floor above the archway.

The internal layout remains largely unchanged, and much of the original interior design is still present. This includes two fireplaces with copper hoods on the ground floor, boarded and panelled walls in the lower rooms and former council chamber, and a mural in the former coffee house.

The building is an interesting composition, demonstrating the architect's awareness of the bold work of contemporary architects in the Edwardian Free Style, particularly that of Holden.