Melbourne Electric Supply Company Substation, 10-14 Park Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Melbourne Electric Supply Company Substation, 10-14 Park Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 107422
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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:
RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________DATE: 1928;ASSOCIATIONS: Melbourne Electric Supply Company , City of Melbourne;DESIGNER: City of Melbourne City Architect;.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWStatement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The electrical substation at 10-14 Park Street Melbourne, built in 1928 for the Melbourne City CouncilElectricity Supply Department.Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):· The building’s original external form, materials and detailing;· The building’s high level of integrity to its original design;· Loadbearing face brickwork;· Gabled stucco parapet with oculus window and timber ventilator· Moulded string course;· Pattern and size of original fenestration (Park Street (west) and south elevations); and· Steel-framed window and ventilation panels (Park Street (west) elevation).How it is significant?10-14 Park Street is of local historic and representative significance to the City of Melbourne.Why it is significant?The electrical substation at 10-14 Park Street is historically significant for its association with the development of services provided to Melbourne’s evolving electricity system. Constructed in 1928, the building still operates as a substation for Citipower. It demonstrates the expansion of the electricity supply system established in 1894 by the Melbourne City Council Electricity Supply Department, in particular to accommodate the conversion of alternating to direct current for use by trains and otherusers. (Criterion A)10-14 Park Street is representative of an Interwar substation similar to others at 620-648 Little Bourke Street, 21 Market Lane and 12-14 Guildford Lane. These buildings share a common history in the development of electricity supply in the City of Melbourne and an industrial aesthetic that contributes to the richness of building form and small scale of the Hoddle Grid, also relating to the scale of 470-474 Little Lonsdale Street. Attributes of the building are its red brick walls and stucco mouldings, parapet and original door and window to the main façade. The building is enhanced by a high level of integrity and is legible as an industrial building in a laneway landscape. (Criterion D)Primary sourceHoddle Grid Heritage Review (Context & GJM Heritage, 2020).GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM__________________________________________________VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY H7822-10221866 map shows building fronting La Trobe Street, possibly extending into this site.1905 - 3 small single storey buildings on site__________________________________________________RBA ARCHITECTS 2013, CITY NORTH HERITAGE REVIEWMCC Substation 23 Lansdowne Place, Carlton D2 - 1919/LateFederation periodFirst stage probably designed by the City Engineer's Office (The Argus, 14 April 1919, p2).Similar design to substation in Tyrone Street, North Melbourne and substation at 10-14Park Street, Melbourne.Single section probably built before two storey section. Red brick and stucco withdistinctive brackets.It is a building type for which a survey needs to be undertaken to determine which arethe most significant examples.__________________________________________________CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWHO1257Citipower, formerly Melbourne City Council Substation 10-14 Park Street (1928)· Historically significant for demonstrating the development of services related to Melbourne’s evolving electricity system.· Aesthetically significant as a representative example of an interwar substation, with its form and scale relating to neighbouring two storey buildings..SITE HISTORYThe site at 10-14 Park Street was part of Allotment 15, Section 31 in the City of Melbourne (CoMMaps). By c1877 Park Street had been formed opposite Flagstaff Gardens to allow access between La Trobe and Little Lonsdale streets (RHSV 2018). Occupation of the site appears to have been mainly residential until 1921, with three small single-storey dwellings, presumably terrace housing, occupying the site from 1895, possibly earlier (MMBW Detail Plan no 736, 1895).Electrical substationBetween 1898 and 1900 the Melbourne City Council acquired the assets of three private electricity companies operating within its municipal boundaries, creating a new company known as the Melbourne City Council Electricity Supply Department (MCCESD), and subsequently constructed a number of electric substations. In 1907, the City of Melbourne called for tenders for the erection of electric substations to plans and specifications available from the City Architect's Office (Age 3 July 1907:4).In 1921, the MCCESD supply capacity was augmented by provision for importing up to 5000kW at 6.6kV from the newly constructed Victorian Railways power station at Newport. In addition, in 1925 the first stage of conversion to three-phase importation from the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) for the Melbourne Electric Supply Company (MES Co.) supply areas was introduced (Pierce 2009: 7-8). A number of substations throughout the city were upgraded or rebuilt in order to convert the 22,000v alternating current generated at the Newport power station to a 1,500 direct current before it was transmitted to overhead wires for use by electric trains.It is likely that the subject site was one of the substations nominated for an upgrade, as, in September 1928 the City of Melbourne advertised tenders for the erection of an electric substation in Park Street (Age 12 September 1928:4). It is assumed that the building was constructed later in 1928. No information about the building's designer could be found, although it is likely to have been designed by the then city architect. A 1962 map shows the substation in situ (Figure 1).The electric substation operated under Melbourne City Council for over sixty years until the privatisation of the electricity industry saw it transferred to CitiPower Ltd in 1995 (CT:V2919 F671).Today, 10-14 Park Street continues to operate as an electric substation.Figure 1. Detail from a reprinted 1962 Mahlstedt plan shows the Melbourne City council (MCC) electric substation occupying the subject site. (Source: Mahlstedt Map Section 2, no 2a,1962).
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 107422 | 1 JPEG : 384 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |