Factory and store, 1-5 Coverlid Place, Melbourne
Graeme Butler and Associates01/07/1989
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Title:
Factory and store, 1-5 Coverlid Place, Melbourne
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Date of work:
01/07/1989
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 102243
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
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Period: 1850-1975Construction date: (1-3) 1922. (5) 1871.ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:.GRAEME BUTLER 1989, LITTLE BOURKE STREET PRECINCT CONSERVATION STUDYsee https://issuu.com/graemebutler21/docs/little_bourke_st_precinct_conservatStatement of SignificanceFactory and Store1-3 and 5 Coverlid Place, west sideHistoryBuilt: 1870-1 (store), 1922 factoryThese two building lots were created by an 1846-52 subdivision; John Comber owning the north (5 Coverlid) and Pat Casey the south (1-3 Coverlid) 1. Later, Coggan Brumby (1848-) and hotelier, Charles Downie (1864-) owned the northern lot and Rachell Watson (1852-) and Michael Dawson (1871-) had the southern lot until both lots were united under Emma Dawson (Michael's widow?) 1880 2.Rate listings describe a 3 level brick warehouse beside 2 level factory (both owned by the London Bank) in the lane c1905, occupied by Lew Chong and Welsh & Payne. Before that, from the early 1880s, Mrs. Dawson owned brick house and store on similar lot sizes 3.Michael Dawson owned a brick store there on three levels in the 1870s, preceded by Charles Downie who is rated for an unfinished building ('house') of the same height 1870 4. Prior to that he had stables on the site 5. Downie was then proprietor of the adjacent Australia Felix Hotel, Bourke Street, and applied in 1868 to build a 'large store' at the rear of his hotel 6.In the same period William and Mrs Watson owned two brick houses, each of two rooms 7. An c1870 panorama shows the store with a mansard-like roof, with two skillion roofs descending from a central platform, and appearing like a brewing tower. Beside (1-3 Coverlid) are two row houses with transverse-ridge gabled roofs.In plans of 1887, the northern building is shown as three-storey brick building adjoining the rear of the Temperance Hall in Russell Street (170-176), the southern site is two storey, brick and planned as a house pair with rear bricked yard and earth closets 8. A similar configuration is in the MMBW plans of the mid 1890s. In c1906 however, the southern site is vacant but the other is the same, still adjoining the rear of the Temperance Hall, and is shown with two openings on the west and east elevations 9.In 1899 MMBW plans also show the southern site vacant and the store is noted as 5 Healey Lane (now Coverlid Place). Both were owned by the National Trustees Executors & Agency as managed by Walter Maddern 10. In 1920-2, MMBW plans show the store and the adjoining building, linked with the old temperance hall in Russell Street and owned by the Total Abstinence Society 11. The plans show transferral of water closets and urinals from 5 to 1-3 Coverlid Place. This coincides with an application to build a factory there in 1922 12. Meanwhile the Russell Street temperance hall was used as the Savoy Picture Theatre in the late 1930s 13. In 1979-80 these two buildings were refitted internally as a restaurant 14. The two frontages were named Healy's Lane (east) and Golden Fleece Lane (west) during last century 15.DescriptionThe northern building is on three levels, is of face brick (bagged and painted) and retains most window openings (refitted with metal frames) except the ground-level centre. Window sills at the middle level differ from the typical 19th century type and match those on the southern building. The southern building possesses similar ground level openings but those on the upper level are this century. Similarly the upper and side walling is recent (bagged and painted). However at the west (rear face) both buildings are ruled stucco (part unpainted) and openings of an old type extend across from the northern to the southern site on the upper two levels.External IntegrityLarge arched door-opening closed in at ground level on north building and new doorway made in south site east face, bricks bagged and painted on both, sills altered on north 2nd level, rear openings bricked in on both and signs added.StreetscapePart of brick warehouse frontages, now mainly on east side of lane. Lane retains basalt kerbs and channels but kerbs have been rendered over, in part, at this frontage.SignificanceContributory (5 only) to historic fabric of the precinct's main growth period.Contributes to precinct (5 only).Notes1 RGO SN132392 ibid.3 RB1882,308-9; listings unreliable given lane siting4 RB1870,268; RB1871,2755 RB1869,272. 6 BA2775, D1870 .7 RB1870, 266-78 Mahlstedt & Gee Standard Plans 18879 Mahlstedt Fire Insurance Plans c190610 loc cit. DRP15423 189911 MMBW DRP10824 192012 BA458113 RB1940,994f14 BA 50637, 5250715 Mahlstedt & Gee Standard Plans 1887.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWSITE HISTORYThe subject site is part of Section 1, Block 23, purchased in April 1839 by a Sydney businessmanArchibald Mossman, who also bought sections 2, 3, 4 and 20 in the same block (DCLS).Coverlid Place was known as Healy Lane until the 1890s. Located between Coverlid Place, off LittleBourke Street, and Golden Fleece Alley at the rear of the east side of Russell Street, the subjectproperty at 1-5 Coverlid Place consists of two building lots created by an 1846-52 subdivision.According to Graeme Butler, the north allotment (formerly numbered 5 Coverlid Place) and the southallotment (1-3 Coverlid Place) were respectively owned by John Comber and Pat Casey. Later,Coggan Brumby and Charles Downie, a hotelier, owned the northern lot and Rachell Watson andMichael Dawson owned the southern lot; the allotments were amalgamated under the ownership ofEmma Dawson (possibly Michael’s widow) by 1880 (Butler 1989, Vol 3:10).The current three-storey building at 1-5 Coverlid Place was built in two parts. A three-storey store wasconstructed in 1870-71 on the northern allotment, most likely for Charles Downie. It was later ownedby Michael Dawson. Prior to the store construction, Downie operated stables on the site. Downie wasthe proprietor of the adjacent Australia Felix Hotel (later Morell’s Family Hotel, then Richardson’sHotel) at the corner of Bourke and Russell streets, and in 1868 applied to build a ‘large store’ at therear of his hotel (Butler 1989, Vol 3:10). As it was never listed in street directories or rate books as anindividual structure, it is likely that the building was used as a rear storage for the hotel during thenineteenth century.Around the same time, two brick cottages with slate roofs and stone foundations existed on thesouthern allotment. In 1870, this parcel of land was advertised for sale. The building on the allotmentwas described as having two levels and four rooms, with 'out offices' (Argus 3 August 1870:2).Graeme Butler described the appearance of the buildings at 1-3 and 5 Coverlid Place in a c1870panorama as follows:[The] panorama shows the store [5 Coverlid Place] with a mansard-like roof, with twoskillion roofs descending from a central platform, and appearing like a brewing tower.Beside it (1-3 Coverlid) are two row houses with transverse-ridge gabled roofs (Butler1989, Vol 3:10).According to the 1910 Fire Survey Plan, the cottages formerly at 1-3 Coverlid Place were demolishedbetween 1895 and 1910 (see Figures 174-175), and the store at 5 Coverlid Place had two openingson the west and east elevations in 1910 (see Figure 175; Mahlstedt Map Section 1, no 4, 1910).Figure 174. The current extent of land at 1-5 Coverlid Place is marked by the red square on a section of a MMBWplan. Coverlid Place was known as Healy Lane until the 1890s. (Source: MMBW 1895, SLV)Figure 175. The current extent of land at 1-5 Coverlid Place is marked by a red square on a section of theMahlstedt plan in 1910. (Source: Mahlstedt 1910, SLV).https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RxYLbW-KohK9ecnnE4HAYVPpoLhEIxIt/view?usp=sharingIn 1899, both allotments were owned by the National Trustees Executors & Agency, and following aland sale in 1920, the subject site was owned by the Total Abstinence Society, which operated theTemperance Hall at 170-172 Russell Street (Argus 14 April 1920:2; Butler 1989, Vol 3:10).Graeme Butler notes that the current building on the south allotment or 1-3 Coverlid Place was built in1922, however it appears to be a pre-1920 construction. In 1921, the City of Melbourne rate bookrecorded the subject building with a footprint measuring 50 by 32 feet (RB 1921-1925; Butler 1989,Vol 3:10).Like many other nineteenth century warehouses in a laneway setting, the subject building also hadalterations coinciding with the changes of ownership over time, to accommodate the needs of theowners. During the ownership of the Total Abstinence Society, the subject building at 1-5 CoverlidPlace was used as a secondary office space that housed meeting rooms. At that time, its primaryelevation was on the west side, facing Golden Fleece Alley, and the entrance on the east elevationwas bricked (see Figure 176; Mahlstedt Map Section 1, no 4, 1925). Being addressed to CoverlidPlace today, the subject building still retains the early detailing in the elevation facing Golden FleeceAlley, including the ruled render finish.Figure 176. The current extent of land at 1-5 Coverlid Place is marked by a red square on a section of theMahlstedt plan (Source: Mahlstedt 1925, State Library of Victoria).https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RxxjxbpH0eM430M45Ob-jqirxaQa4GLZ/view?usp=sharingThe subject site was purchased by the Melbourne City Council in 1961, when the Council acquiredthe former Temperance Hall (then Savoy Theatre) site and the adjacent Russell Street lands at a costof £88,750 for the proposed eight-storey car parking, currently known as the Total House (HO1095)(Age 30 May 1961:14). In 1963, the Savoy Theatre was demolished to make way for Total House,and 1-5 Coverlid Place remained as an independent structure.The post-1960s amendments of the Mahlstedt plan shows the subject building consisting of singleand three storeyed sections with street accesses from both Golden Fleece Alley and Coverlid Place(see Figure 177; Mahlstedt Section 1, no 4, 1948). With the construction of Total House, GoldenFleece Alley became a dead-end street, and the east side (Coverlid Place) became the primaryelevation.The use of 1-5 Coverlid Place during the 1960s and 1970s after the closure of the Temperance Hall isnot clear. The site at 1-5 Coverlid Place, which was described as having been erected with a ‘threestoreyoffice’, was sold by auction in 1978, and in 1979-80, and the building was refitted for aconversion as a restaurant. It housed an adult cinema until recently (Age 8 July 1978:71; CoMMaps).Figure 177. Mahlstedt’s 1948 plan with post-1966 amendments, showing 1-5 Coverlid Place consisting of singleand three storied structures (Source: Mahlstedt 1948, State Library of Victoria).
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Research and reports
Record number:
1197803
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 102243 | 1 PDF : 1,529 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |