MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, SHOPS AND RESIDENCES, FORMER FREE LIBRARY AND MECHANICS INSTITUTE, 52-68 Errol Street, North Melbourne
Graeme Butler and AssociatesJul-91
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Title:
MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, SHOPS AND RESIDENCES, FORMER FREE LIBRARY AND MECHANICS INSTITUTE, 52-68 Errol Street, North Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
Jul-91
Reference number:
BIF-NORTH 103510 103511 103512 103513 103514 103515 103516 103517
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
Grading as at 1991 (A-E) : APeriod : Mid Victorian (1883)Grantee/Reserve : Hotham Town Hall and Court House 1870___________________________GRAEME BUTLER 1983, CONSERVATION STUDY FOR THE CITY OF MELBOURNE OF NORTH AND WEST MELBOURNEHistory- In May 1880, the first moves were made to erect a Free Library, Reading Room and shops on the land adjacent to the Town Hall in Errol Street and by October, plans were drawn up by architect George Johnson. In 1883 these buildings, at a cost of £5,645, were opened. The builders were Messrs Delbridge and Thomas. The library was originally designed with a 65 foot frontage to Errol Street with two shops and lecture hall on the ground floor, plus separate reading rooms for ladies and gentlemen on the first floor. This frontage was extended to 162 feet in 1884. Messrs King , Harcourt and Williams of the nearby drapery emporium donated the first 500 books to the library which was at the northern end of the complex (66); by 1888 the collection had grown to 2100 volumes. Local clubs and societies used the rooms, e.g. Literary and Debating Society, various lodges and Quadrille clubs and a Billiard room was set upon the first floor in 1887. Arthur J Batty was appointed the first Librarian. [Francis and Alsop "The History of the Municipal Buildings of North Melbourne" Department of Architecture, University of Melbourne Undergraduate Thesis, 1967]After the extensions of 1884, the buildings covered seven shops whose tenants included such traders as the Foochow and Calcutta Tea Company, Yeoman and Company, photographers, James Grant, a tobacconist, P B McMaster, a jeweller, Edmund Lyons and Son, stationers; and the Federal Bank of Australia occupied the largest of the shops (68) early 20th century.Two storey stuccoed brick and parapetted shops and residences, including a Mechanics' Institute and Free Library, formerly with a twin arched iron corporation verandah fronting seven of the nine occupancies, but now with a reconstructed verandah covering all of the building a possessing three arches. Echoing the pedimented tower bay of the Town Hall, this building, as well, comprises a discrete façade ; the gable porticoed bay is repeated over 52 Errol Street, with a central segment-arched bay, completing the E-plan. Although Johnson's drawings show a nine-bayed, three-arched verandah, the Mechanics' Institute was left without a verandah, perhaps visually connecting it with the town hall, rather than confused with shops.Piered balustrading decorates the parapet with a raised, gabled entablature over the central bay and foliation in the pediment tympanums to provide more ornament. Corinthian order trabeation is overlaid on pedimented fenestration, generally matching the town hall, whilst the serlian motif is introduced into the major bay windows for emphasis. Ingo shop fronts, presumably timber, were the general rule.Integrity- ....Streetscape- An integral part of the town hall elevation and the commercial streetscape of Errol Street.Significance- Architecturally, designed by the renowned architect, George Johnson, and near original above the verandah line, this is one of the more richly and skilfully decorated 19th century shop rows in Melbourne, of high regional importance.Historically of interest as an unusual municipal investment venture of a of a municipality that no longer exists and exemplifies a desire for a civic aesthetic in the north commercial street of the municipality : of regional importance.
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Images, maps and artefacts
Record number:
1620159
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 103510 103511 103512 103513 103514 103515 103516 103517 | 1 PDF : 774 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |