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Charter House also Troedel & Cooper (-1929), 4 Bank Place, Melbourne

Butler, Graeme01/01/1985

Record details

Title:

Creator:

Butler, Graeme (Name details)

Date of work:

01/01/1985

Reference number:

BIF-CITY 100731

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 BY GRAEME BUTLER:Period: Edwardian, Inter-warConstruction Date: 1907, 1933-1934Notable Features: Entry Hall (A & K Henderson renovation c1933-4); Relates visually to nearby Bank HouseHistory: Once the site of the south wing of what is now the Savage Club, its next role was to accommodate a new printing works for the doyen of printers, Troedel & Cooper, built in 1905. It was also to serve as visual counter-point to the other new printery (Mason, Firth & McCutcheon) built at the opposite end of Bank Place (11-19), also to the design of Nahum Barnet. Troedel's building was taller and possessed curved corner windows, but otherwise the two looked alike, each with tall-arched fenestration and an arcaded ground-level (since altered at 11-19 Bank Place). The site owners (as with the Savage Club) were the National Mutual Life Association and the builders, Atkinson & Gordon, of Richmond. Troedel stayed there (substantially as the sole tenant) at least until the 1940s, when it was their `city office' and they shared the building with a number of others, including two well-known (or to be well-known) architectural firms, Yuncken Freeman Freeman & Griffiths (3rd floor) and A. & K. Henderson & Partners (4th floor). The former firm had recently emerged from the latter as Henderson's past design and documentation core. Henderson's, principals were listed separately in directories (viz. Kingsley Henderson, C.H. Strachan Smith and R.C. Staughton), as an indication of the firm's size , being then probably the State's largest architectural firm. Other tenants included Sir Walter Leitch, the Italian Consul, a number of stockbrokers and loss assessors, and the caretaker on the fifth floor. Henderson's eventually ceased as a firm, Yuncken Freeman Freeman & Griffiths eventually moved on (becoming Yuncken Freeman Architects Pty. Ltd.), and the only trace of the early tenants in the 1960s was a consulate, this time representing Peru.Description: Romanesque revival was the accepted style for many late 19th and early 20th Century industrial buildings, new interpretations arising in different eras (i.e. Sargood's, Flinders Lane warehouse, 1898). This design was therefore typical but, given its design by Barnet and the free-standing aspect from the east, it allowed a better execution of the style by one of its master practitioners, being readily visible in three dimensions. Barnet's deep window arch reveals accentuate the bold massing of the design and the curved corner (seen also at 11-19 Bank Place) was further enhanced by the glazing so skillfully set within it. The attic floor, with its dwarf colonnade, is a highly successful termination to the verticality stressed by the archways. Henderson's alterations during the tenure have not altered the form or fenestration, but probably much of the foliated cement detail has been removed (leaving only `structural' detailing) and the face brickwork cemented over.External Integrity: Probably much of the foliated cement detail has been removed together with the entrance and lobby when renovated in the A.& K. Henderson era and probably the interior also.Streetscape: Contributing part of a notable precinct.Significance: Identified initially with the notable printing firm, Troedel & Cooper, and later with the large architectural firm, A. & K. Henderson, also a successful warehouse design in theRomanesque revival manner (albeit stripped of detail and renovated internally) and a complementary element in an important precinct.REFERENCES:Lewis, M. Australian Architecture Index:Record 76916 ARCHITECT: Barnet, Nahum- OWNER: National Mutual Life Association Melbourne VIC Factories BUILDERS: Atkinson & Gordon - 87 Church St Rich. APPLICATION: 1904 08 11, Application number 9408 City of Melbourne Building Permit Application 4 Bank Place 1933 Jan 14157 ₤150 alts to building; Feb 14209- alts to building ₤13250 to … 1987.Newspapers:The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Tue 22 Aug 1933 Page 12BUILDING& ARCHITECTURE RENOVATION OF OFFICES.Striking Example in City.Two examples of city building improvements better illustrate the possibilities of office renovation from an investor's point of view than the work recently carried out at Charter House, Bank-place. The building was formerly occupied by a firm of printers, but was empty for some time until acquired by the present owner. Situated in a secluded by-way, Bank-place, but convenient to one of the busiest sections of Melbourne, the structure now presents a most attractive appearance. It is opposite the Mitre Tavern, which is also to' receive attention in the near future. The building consists of basement, ground and four floors. When taken over by the decorators, D. L. Dexter and Son, it was first thoroughly overhauled. Liberal coats of concrete and cement paint were next sprayed over the external brick surface. This dressing, particularly when of a light stone or freestone shade, has proved entirely satisfactory for renovating purposes, and the severest tests have demonstrated its resistance to heat. . The entrance to the building was then remodelled, with an inturned stairway to the basement, being flanked by stairways leading to the ground floor through a pair of handsome swing doors. An innovation inside was the treatment of corridors, the floors of which were covered with Celotex sheets and overlaid with plain, but deeply piled, carpets of a powder-blue color. Celotex, a material with good sound-absorbing qualities and readily adaptable for many uses, was also used largely as linings and partitions. The introduction throughout of inexpensive, but pleasing, wall papers, with a textured pattern, reduced the costs of renovation without impairing the quality of the work. With several obvious advantages besides these it is somewhat strange that wall papers of fresh and simple appearance, which are now available at moderate prices, are so sparingly used. The textured papers, in particular, are most suitable for office restoration, and can be removed at any time. They can be further recommended on account of their hygienic properties and a certain capacity to soften the sounds of footsteps or banging doors. In addition to the careful treatment of floors and wall surfaces, the building has been equipped throughout with new fit tings, of which many were manufactured from selected Australian hardwoods. The woodwork a fine advertisement for local joinery, was lacquered throughout. An interesting feature is the directory board on the ground floor. When a spring is released, this flies up, showing a number, of pigeon holes fen- correspondence and recesses for parcels. A lift of an im proved type was artistically designed and provided with several novel devices. Among these ure telephones, in the event of an accident, receptacles, for smokers' debris, and an indicator in which the progress of the lift is shown by a ray of strong light.Almost before the offices were completed they were let to tenants, among whom is the Lawn Tennis Association of Victoria.The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Wed 25 Nov 1936 Page 6 AdvertisingA & K. HENDERSON and PARTNERS, A .REGISTERED ARCHITECTS,charter HOUSE, 4 BANK-PLACE, MELBOURNE.Invite TENDERS For:The Remodelling of a General Store Building at Charlton, Victoria, for Mcsurs. M. li. Lutn and Company Ply. Ltd. etcTroedel website:http://www.troedel.com.au/history.htmlHistory - Troedel is a name synonymous with printing in Melbourne.The Troedel family has been printing in Melbourne since 1860 when Charles Troedel (pictured left) first arrived with his flat bed lithographic press. He established his printing business on the site now occupied by the Melbourne Town Hall. Charles Troedel's original press is now on display in the William Troedel & Co foyer. Charles was quite a well-known and respected figure of his time, regarded as the man who commercialised and popularised lithographic printing in Australia. His 1863 publication "The Melbourne Album" gathered together a collection of twenty-four of the most appealing and dramatic lithographic images of the Melbourne and surrounding district during the Victorian gold rush era.Following a fire that destroyed the Flinders Lane factory in 1904, Charles's son Walter Troedel joined up with the then factory manager Edward Cooper to form a new printing company Troedel & Cooper at new premises in Bank Place off Little Collins Street opposite the famous English Pub ''Mitre Tavern." In 1929 the Company moved to 86 Bay Street Port Melbourne.During the period 1900 to 1960's, the company accountant Arthur Hewett (who began with the company in 1897 and retired in 1963, after 66 years of service) meticulously saved samples of all print jobs, which resulted in a world-class collection of early 20th century advertising posters, unmatched in Australia. The collection has since been donated to the La Trobe Library.The Troedel family is woven into the fabric of Melbourne and Australia. There are many artistic associations. The Swiss painter Nicholas Chevalier was one of those who painstakingly captured the sights of colonial Australia on the slabs of Bavarian limestone used in the lithographic process originally. A Troedel apprentice, Arthur Streeton, was sketching at Mentone one day when he met artists Tom Roberts and Fred McCubbin, who lured him away to join The Heidelberg School, to become one of Australia's greatest artists. (He later wrote to Walter Troedel acknowledging the debt he owed the family for his training in draughtsmanship). George Johnston, apprenticed in commercial art to Troedel and Cooper in the 1930s, captured the trade and its identifiable characters in the fictional printery "Klebendorf and Hardt" in My Brother Jack. (Jack Johnston worked at Troedel's into the late1950s). The renowned book has recently been made into a mini-series with Walters great Grandson Alastair Troedel, actually playing a minor part in the mini-series operating the original press brought to Australia in 1860 by Charles Troedel. Walter's son Theodore took over running the business and today his son Bill Troedel with the assistance of his son Alastair operates his own printery under the name of William Troedel & Co Pty Ltd in Oakleigh South. Established by Bill in 1974 and now with the considerable talents and abilities of Alastair (who was the 1995 Victorian Apprentice of the Year), the company is looking forward to a bright and prosperous printing future, and the continuance of the legacy that began 140 years ago.'

Names:

City of MelbourneTroedel & CooperYuncken Freeman Brothers & Griffiths, 1933-c1945Anketell & K Henderson, 1906-c1913

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