Fennessy estate shops & residences, 204-206 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Graeme Butler and Associates01/07/1989
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Fennessy estate shops & residences, 204-206 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
01/07/1989
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 105884 105885
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.
General notes:
RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________Period: EdwardianDATE: 1901;ASSOCIATIONS: National Trustees Company fort he Fennessy estate;DESIGNER: Oakden & Ballantyne;BUILDER: Mather & Heath.GRAEME BUTLER 1989, LITTLE BOURKE STREET PRECINCT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceShops and Residences204-206 Little Bourke StreetHistoryBuilt: 1901Fennessy's executors leased what was described as a brick shop pair, with four rooms each (206) to one Hang Yick a fancy goods seller, and (204) to the You Hing Quartz Mining Company (managed by H. Hay Ling), during the late 1890s.1 In 1901 the National Trustees Company used architects, Oakden & Ballantyne to design a new front for the building. `...to pull down and rebuild front of shops and dwellings...’. The builders were Mather & Heath of Fitzroy.2Despite the addition of two extra rooms to each of (204) and (206), their occupation changed only a little, with Sun Cheong Guey (importer) and later H. Hoy Ling, (again), sharing (204) with the Mee Heong Guey (later Lingnan) Restaurant. Guong Hie Loy commenced a long tenure at what was sometimes (206), sometimes (206-8), up until the 1920s. Leong Hong Cheong, a fruit merchant, leased (206) around 1930 and, after another 10 years, directories list the anonymous 'Chinese' at this address. The King Hong Low cafe was at 204 around 1940 but by the 1960s, the Lingnan Cafe had replaced it and the Wing Ying Cheong & Co. Trading Company at (206).4 The Lingnan Cafe (at another location) was fashionable amongst the bohemian set of the 1930s however its current form does not express this period of occupation. 5206 Little Bourke StreetDescriptionA conservative Renaissance revival two-storey face brick facade (206), with an austere raised entablature above the main cornice al the parapet level. Impost and stringmoulds are used also scrolled undersill mouldings are applied to the heavily architraved and arched upper level window. Ground level openings appear generally intact, with segment-arched tuck-pointed brickwork at the entry and possible show window above a stone plinth. The small glazed area of 206 is indicative of how most of Little Bourke Street's surviving late 19th and early 20th century buildings would have looked at ground floor level, in contrast to the extensive glazed area possessed by most today.External integrityBricks have been painted, stucco-painted in an intrusive gold colour, air units added, new shopfront or show windows installed and new aluminium door installed (206).Streetscape:Potentially sympathetic to adjoining Renaissance revival buildings but currently altered.204 Little Bourke StreetDescriptionA two-storey stuccoed facade which was once a pair with 206, but now has been stripped of most of Its ornament except for the unusual raised entablature on the parapet.External integrityGround level (204) totally replaced, illuminated signs added extensively to the upper level and most mouldings stripped away.StreetscapeHas a potential relationship. if restored to original form to the Renaissance revival characteristics of the adjoining buildings.Significance (204·206 Little Bourke Street)A pair of little external architectural distinction in its original form and now extensively altered in part (204). However, sufficient integrity exists at (206) to express its long period of Chinese occupation in support of Melbourne's Chinatown precinct and provide valuable ground· level show- window details to illustrate the now lost ground-level character of the precinct.206 Little Bourke Street contributes to precinctNotes1 Municipal rate books [RB] 1895.3922 CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS (BA) 8365. 19013 RB1905-6.355; DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL (D) 1920, 1911, 1930,18624 ibid.S .see Blake In Melbourne on foot6 RB1937.183f.7 Source 76. pp.15, 38.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS 8365.GRAEME BUTLER 1989, LITTLE BOURKE STREET PRECINCT CONSERVATION STUDYsee https://issuu.com/graemebutler21/docs/little_bourke_st_precinct_conservat.HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSStatement of SignificanceThis pair were formally identical but No 204 has been remodelled. Number 206 still displays the turn of the century decoration on its upper floor. The pair were constructed in 1901 of face brick With plaster decoration. Although altered, the retention of this pair is important to the character of Chinatown as they still illustrate the typical shop and dwelling once common in the area.
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Research and reports
Record number:
1253534
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 105884 105885 | 1 PDF : 815 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |