Hordern's buildings later Richard White’s Shoe Store, 175-177 Bourke & 138-148 Russell Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme01/01/1985
Archives
Total copies: 1
Title:
Hordern's buildings later Richard White’s Shoe Store, 175-177 Bourke & 138-148 Russell Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
01/01/1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 101126
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materials
Part of:
Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedOpen access.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:Period: Early Victorian; Inter-WarContext (with GJM Heritage) 2020, Hoddle Grid Heritage Review: 239SITE HISTORYThe corner allotment at 173-175 Bourke Street, part of Crown Allotment 18, Block 10, was purchased by Anthony Hordern Senior at the fourth Crown Land Sale in 1839. Hordern purchased two allotments (18 and 19) in Section 10, which is bounded by Bourke, Russell and Little Collins streets, and the west boundary of the Allotment 17.Located on the corner of Bourke and Russell streets, the subject property contains two parts; an older three-storey corner building and a two-storey addition adjoined along Russell Street. The corner shop currently at 173-175 Bourke Street (originally 140 Bourke Street East) is also known as 144-146Russell Street. The ground floor shops in the adjoining two-storey parts are numbered 138-140Russell Street, and the upper storey premises are accessed from a doorway in Russell Street and arenumbered 142 Russell Street (S&Mc 1942; CoMMaps).Completed in 1857, the three-storey corner building was originally a flat-parapeted, palazzo style commercial building with a rendered finish with elaborate detailing. It was designed by the prominent English-born architect Albert Purchas who invited tenders for erecting ‘a large shop in Bourke Street for A Hordern’, noting the building location as ‘Bourke and Russell streets’ (Australian Builders 14 August 1856; Argus 13 August 1856:7, as cited in AAI, record nos 39704 & 39703).The first tenant at 173-175 Bourke Street was the London & Melbourne Mantle Company, managed by C Henry & Co, which specialised in seasonal and occasional mantles and other ladies’ and children’s ready-made clothing and accessories. The building was leased mainly for use as their show rooms (see Figure 111) (Age 1 July 1857:8; 7 November 1857:8).The next tenant was Stanford & Co, importers of Singer sewing machines, who moved into the subject property in the early 1860s. At this time, the street-level verandah was added to the building (see Figure 112) (Calvert 1863, ‘Stanford & Co’s warehouses’, SLV).Although subdivided into a number of parcels, much of the land in Crown allotments 18 and 19continued to be owned by the Horderns until Anthony Hordern senior’s death in 1869. The Hordern family is an Australian retailing dynasty who first came to prominence in Sydney asmerchants and retailers with the establishment of Anthony Hordern & Sons, and then gained notability in rural pursuits, stockbreeding, stockbroking, fashion, cricket and parliament. Anthony Hordern senior (1788-1869) and wife Ann Woodhead (c1791-1871) migrated to Sydney in 1823 with their fourchildren. They moved to Melbourne in 1839, with eldest son Anthony Junior returning to Sydney with brother Lebbeus, shortly after and setting up the drapery business, L and A Hordern in 1844. Hordern senior eventually established the firm Anthony Hordern & Sons with his second son, Samuel, whichbecame the largest department store in Sydney. With 52 acres (21 hectares) of retail space, Anthony Hordern's Sydney store was also once the largest department store in the world (Teale 1972).In September 1872, the land at 173-175 Bourke Street was advertised for sale in the Age, together with other freehold lands in possession of late A Hordern (Age 16 September 1872:4). At this time, the property was described as a valuable shop, three-stories high, and premises at the corner of Bourke Street and RussellStreet, occupied by Mr Stanford, erected at great cost, and presenting an imposing appearance, unsurpassed by any place of business of this class in the city (Age 16September 1872:4). In the 1880s, Stanford & Co moved from the main ground-level shop facing Bourke Street but continued trading in the upper-storey premises through to the mid-1920s (S&Mc 1892 & 1920-1925).Between the mid-1890s and the 1970s, the shop at 173-175 Bourke Street was occupied by a chain store, Richard White’s Shoe Store, which had 52 shoes outlets across Victoria (Figure 114) (Age 12 December 1936:9; 26 January 1957:5).From the 1980s until today, the Bourke Street shop has been tenanted by Florsheim Shoes Pty Ltd, another franchise shoe store that started in Chicago in 1892. The building contains one residential property and two food and drink outlets.As mentioned above, the subject site also comprises the two and three-storey extensions at 138-142Russell Street (Figure 113). The Russell Street additions were built in a number of stages. Alsoowned by the Hordern family, the land at 138-142 Russell Street (formerly numbered 96) had beenintegrated with the corner building by the 1880s, during Stanford & Co’s occupancy of 173-175Bourke Street. Completed between c1880 and c1888, the narrow three-storey building at 142 RussellStreet replaced the two-storey building seen in Figure 112 (Mahlstedt Section 1, no 10, 1888). Thecurrent two-storey shops at 138-140 Russell Street (Figure 113) were built to a design by architectsGodfrey & Spowers in 1920-1921, replacing the former nineteenth century shop and storage(Mahlstedt Section 1, no 5, 1910 & 1925; S&Mc 1910-1915, PROV item no).Records show that the section that houses the lobby and a staircase to the upper levels (currentlynumbered 142 Russell Street, Figure 113) was erected between the late 1880s and 1895 (MahlstedtSection 1, no 10, 1888; MMBW Detailed Plan no 1013, 1895). This addition, however, appears tohave been replaced above ground floor level with the current structure in 1920, when the RussellStreet shops were constructed, although the arched doorway to the gound floor may remain from the earlier structure.The early tenants at the shops at 138-140 Russell Street included Mrs Benjamin Mitchell, clothier andwardrobe dealer (S&Mc 1915-1925); Croft’s Stores, grocers (S&Mc 1930); and Conn’s Corner TeaHouse (S&Mc 1942). The shops are currently occupied by two food and drink outlets (CoMMaps).In March 1937, the subject property underwent building works including the alterations and ‘erectionof shop front’, with the cost totalling £1022 (MBAI). It is likely that the street façades were refaced atthe same time. Some of the late Victorian design elements, including the arched entrance, decorativecornices and eave brackets, survive in the section at 142 Russell Street (Figure 114) (CommercialPhotographic Co c1940s, SLV).The shops at 173-175 Bourke Street are currently occupied by two food and drink outlets (CoMMaps)Albert Purchas, architectAlbert Purchas (1825-1909), architect, civil engineer and surveyor, was born in Cheptstone, England.He arrived in Victoria in 1851 and soon established an architectural practice. In 1853 he was theauthor of a Book of Reference and Map of the Settled Districts Around Melbourne. Joining theVictorian Institute of Architects in 1856, his first major works involved the Oriental Bank (1856) andthe Melbourne General Cemetery (1853) (Tibbits and Goad 2012:570).In 1856, Purchas was joined by his brother-in-law Charles R Swyer (1825-76). Together theydesigned many banks, mostly in the Renaissance Revival style, and ecclesiastical buildings, mostly inthe early Gothic Revival in style. The partnership Purchas & Swyer practised until 1862. After thepartnership separated, Swyer went to New Zealand and Purchas continued his sole practice until hisdeath, although it appears he was less active after 1891. Purchas's most well-known works include StGeorge’s Presbyterian Church, a polychromatic Gothic Revival church in St Kilda; the offices of theMutual Insurance Company and the Northern Insurance Company, Collins Street West; andwarehouses for Messrs Briscoe & Co and Messrs George & George (Tibbits and Goad 2012:570).Purchas was also a Justice of the Peace, and for many years vice-president of the VIA. In 1887-88 heserved a term as VIA president, and between 1873 and 1886 he was the secretary of the MelbourneGeneral Cemetery and the chairman of the Cemetery Board from 1867 to 1909. One of his sons wasGuyon Purchas the architect (Tibbits and Goad 2012:570).Godfrey & Spowers, architectsWilliam Scott Purves Godfrey (1872-1953) was born in Toorak, Victoria. He was articled by Redd,Henderson & Smart in 1889, and started his own practice in Collins Street in Melbourne in 1895. Onhis return from two years in the United Kingdom and Europe, Godfrey entered partnership with HenryHoward Spowers (c1873-1933) (Murphy and Raworth 2012:278-9).In the following decades, Godfrey & Spowers completed a large number of houses, warehouses andinstitutional buildings, along with bank buildings, for which the firm became renowned. Thepartnership was awarded the Street Architecture Medal for the Bank of NSW, at 374 Collins Street,Melbourne (Murphy and Raworth 2012:278-9).Spowers died in 1932, and Godfrey’s son, William Purves Race Godfrey (1907-83) joined the firm inthe early 1930s whilst studying. Graduating from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor ofArchitecture in 1933, Race Godfrey was admitted as an associate to the Royal Victorian Institute ofArchitects (RVIA) in 1934 and was the president of RVIA in 1956-7 (Murphy and Raworth 2012:278-9).The firm continues to practice today, changing its name from Godfrey Spowers, Hughes Mewton &Lobb in the 1960s to Spowers in the 1990s. Notable works of the firm include the Argus Building(1926) and the Egyptian influenced Bank of NSW at 190 Bourke Street (1930) (Murphy and Raworth2012:278-9).
Names:
Topics:
Places:
Form/Genre:
Record types:
Research and reports
Record number:
1179941
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 101126 | 1 JPEG : 167 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |