Situated beside the current Civic Theatre, these buildings were owned by John Alfred Mitson. The smaller building, Mitson’s Hotel, was opened in 1869, while Mitson’s Family Hotel, designed by architects McKaye and Ridley, opened in 1881. The property was sold in 1882 but was still known over the years as Mitson’s Family Hotel, apart from a brief time as the Stark Family Hotel under Wyald Stark, and McMaster’s Family Hotel under James McMaster. Other proprietors included Julius Seehof, William Shackel, and Charles Young. It ended life as a hotel at the turn of the century, becoming a butcher’s shop. In later years the building was a restaurant and fruit shop under J.M Brown and was known as the Civic Fruit Shop and Restaurant. It was demolished under protest by many in 1979.

Sources: Papers Past, Stone’s Directories