Telephone Exchange & Post Office, 114-120 Russell Street & 136 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Title:
Telephone Exchange & Post Office, 114-120 Russell Street & 136 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 108591
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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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2023:__________________________________________________Period: Post-WarConstruction date: 1948-1954Designed by: Commonwealth Department of Works.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWStatement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The former Russell Street Automatic Telephone Exchange and Postal Building at 114-120 Russell Street, Melbourne, originally constructed as a nine-storey telephone exchange and postal hall in 1948-54 is significant.Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):· Original building form and scale;· Original pattern of fenestration, including projecting glazed terracotta (faience) clad horizontal and vertical frames to window openings and horizontal bands of glazing;· Recessed entry on the Russell Street frontage including a faience-clad lintel supported by circular columns clad in granite;· Original steel/aluminium frame windows; and· Bas relief sculpture to the Russell Street façade at the ground level.Later alterations are not significant.How it is significant?The former Russell Street Automatic Telephone Exchange and Postal Building at 114-120 Russell Street is of historical, representative and aesthetic significance to the City of Melbourne.Why it is significant?The former Russell Street Telephone Exchange and Postal Building, opened in 1954, is historically significant for the evidence it provides of the broadening of Commonwealth powers after World War Two, a shift that resulted in increased construction of Commonwealth buildings in city centres including Melbourne. The former Russell Street Telephone Exchange and Postal Building is historically significant as one of the first large buildings constructed in the city after World War Two,and is the last to express the solid masonry, architectural traditions typical of the era prior to WorldWar Two. The building also reputedly contained the first air-conditioned postal hall in Australia.(Criterion A)The former Russell Street Automatic Telephone Exchange and Postal Building is significant as alargely intact example of a substantial public building in central Melbourne built to the 40 metre (132foot) height limit then in force. The interwar Functionalist style adopted for the building was popularduring the interwar and early postwar periods, often for low rise industrial buildings, schools andinstitutional buildings, for its modern, progressive aesthetic. Designed by the CommonwealthDepartment of Works, which was responsible for a number of high quality major public buildingsduring the period (such as the telephone exchange building at 376-382 Flinders Lane), the buildingdemonstrates a commitment to the high-quality architectural design for major public buildings by theCommonwealth Department of Works. (Criterion D)The former Russell Street Automatic Telephone Exchange and Postal Building has several uniquefeatures that contribute to its aesthetic significance. Although built following World War Two, thebuilding exhibits elements of the interwar Functionalist style that are characteristic of a pre-World WarTwo modernist character. This includes its large and dramatic recessed entry space on the RussellStreet frontage, surmounted by glazed terracotta lintel and supported on three circular granitecolumns adjacent to a bass relief sculpture attached to the facade. (Criterion E)Primary sourceHoddle Grid Heritage Review (Context & GJM Heritage, 2020).GRAEME BUTLER 1982-3, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (VIC) 20TH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE SURVEY and 20th CENTURY BUILDINGS REGISTER_________________________________________GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM_________________________________________VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER Hermes 5974Registration RefusedStatement of SignificanceThe former Russell Street telephone exchange and post office was designed by the Commonwealth Department of Works in 1948 and built in 1954. Built predominantly in cream brick and featuring projecting strip windows and a portico with pink granite columns, the building has been said to reflect Scandinavian modernist influence. Although it was the first large building in the CBD after the Second World War, the architectural impact of the exchange was quickly eclipsed by the newer glass curtain wall office buildings such as the (demolished) CRA Building and ICI House (H786).The building has recently been gutted and several storeys added with a completely new architectural treatment by grafted onto the 1950s modernist design. The new apartment building by Nation Fender Katsalidis is to be known as "The Hero"._________________________________________CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWHO1374Former Russell Street, Automatic Telephone Exchange and Postal Building114-120 Russell Street(1948-1954, 1999-2001)Architect: Commonwealth Department of Works (1948-54), Nation Fender Katsalidis (1999-2001)Statement of Significance· Historically significant as one of the first large buildings constructed after WW2, demonstrating the broadening Commonwealth powers. · Significant as representative of the commitment to the high-quality architectural design for major public buildings by the Commonwealth Department of Works.· Aesthetically significant for exhibiting elements of the interwar Functionalist style that are characteristic of a pre-World War Two modernist character._________________________________________RESIDENTS 3000 web siteSee https://residents3000.com.au/inform/living3000/hero-apartment-building/HistoryThe building was originally the Russell Street Telephone exchange and Post Office being the first postwar government building of any size completed after 1945. The Russell Street Telephone Exchange and Post Office marked a crucial stylistic shift between pre- and post-war attitudes to the metropolitan public buildings.Construction took five years, with the result that its interlocking cubic design, projecting glazed panels and cream brick appeared dated when it was finally completed in 1954. Another exchange at 378 Flinders Lane (1952-54) follows a similar compositional palette.Unusually, the Russell Street building combined a postal hall at ground level, the interior design of which echoed 1930s Italian Modernism. Features included a dashing striped floor, smart metal grill work, stainless steel telephone booths (since removed) and three massive pink granite stylized Doric columns.Outside a bas-relief sculpture mounted on the cream brick wall above the footpath was a mannered ornamental inclusion beneath large first- and second-floor glazed panels that, in functionalist fashion, revealed the machinery of the exchange within. As the exchange is located on Russell Hill, in 1956 the building gained special status by briefly serving as a relay station for newly arrived television.In 1999 the building was converted into a variety of differing boutique apartments with retail at the ground and basement levels. Works were completed in 2001. The sustainable renovation and add-on concept was the work of well known Melbourne architect, Nonda Katsalidis._________________________________________NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1945https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/977564IMPROVED TELEPHONE FACILITIES FOR VICTORIAPlans for modernising Victoria's postal services were announced by Senator Cameron. Postmaster-General, on Saturday....1948The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)Tuesday 7 December 1948 - Page 3https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205672839£6,000,000 for Post Office Extensions1 CANBERRA, Monday. — Buildings to resist atom "bomb attacks are included in a £6,000,000 Post Office construction and modernisms: programme for Victoria…Biggest constructional job is under way. This is the £1,300,000 exchange and post office at the corner of Russell and Little Collins streets. It Will be known as Russell Exchange. With the ground floor takenup by what Senator Cameron says will be the most modern post hall in Australia, this exchange will cater for the eastern end of the city. About 10,000 subscribers will be connected to an automatic exchange..Centralian Advocate (Alice Springs, NT : 1947 - 1954) Fri 21 Jan 1949Page 7https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59856003THE POST OFFICE AND 1949One vital lesson learned from the war, said the Postmaster-General (Senator Cameron) is the essential need for efficient postal and telecommunication services, not only in connection with national progress during times of peace but also as the lifeblood of a country when hostilities menace its shores. The invaluable part played by the Department during the long war years is past history, but it contributed greatly to the National effort by providing extensive postal and telecommunication facilities, by producing millions of pounds worth of technical equipment for the Forces, by assisting in the development of radar and other secret and important devices by developing new and substitute materials for telephone, telegraph and radio equipment, by releasing 7,500 employees for service with the Forces and by freeing 750 officers for work in war organisations. When it was evident that the war in the Pacific was reaching a successful conclusion, the Government took steps affecting the Post Office in two important directions. One was to arrange for a programme of works to be drawn up to regain the ground lost by the war and restore the services to a high state of efficiency, and the other was, to examine the conditions under which facilities were made available to the public, with the object of effecting improvements. Plans formulated by the Department covering works to the value of £42,000,000 during a period of three years were endorsed by the Government, which appointed a Cabinet Sub-Committee to supervise the programme and to ensure that money and materials would be used to the best advantage. Procedures were stream lined to meet the abnormal conditions and for the first time in its history the Post Office was authorised to order materials and to recruit staff on a long range basis. The rehabilitation programme is well under way but, unfortunately, said Senator Cameron,- progress has been hampered by the short age of skilled manpower, equipment and buildings. Despite these difficulties, however, a good deal has been accomplished during 1948 and the effect of the special action taken to recruit and train additional employees and to order vast quantities of material from local and overseas sources will be more and more apparent as time goes on. The Department is geared up to face 1949 and its problems and complexities, said Senator Cameron, when expressing satisfaction regarding the worthwhile progress made last year in connection with the rehabilitation programme.One of the most important tasks confronting the Department is to overtake the arrears of applications for telephone services and also to cater for the increasing demands for facilities, which are being made at a much higher rate than in the prewar period. During 1948, approximately 41,500 telephone services were added to the system, compared with 39,451 in 1947 and 20,293 in 1939. This improvement in the rate of new connections has been achieved despite the shortages of labor, essential materials and buildings. Notwithstanding the vigorous, efforts made by the Department which have included the provision of temporary buildings to accommodate telephone switching equipment, the applications for new services have shown no signs of declining, with the result that the Department is still faced with 120,000 outstanding orders throughout Australia — 98,500 in metropolitan areas and 21,500 in country districts. In Victoria, 39,000 applications are awaiting attention, including 32,000 in the Melbourne network. Senator Cameron said that the progress in 1949 will depend upon the availability of labor, equipment and buildings. The prospects of securing labor and equipment are fairly bright, as, the result of the measures taken by the Department, but the situation regarding buildings is serious, and the Post Office will be greatly hampered in its rehabilitation plans if a fair share of the available materials is not allotted to building projects. The programme of now buildings works represents a capital outlay in the order of £30,000,000, and many are of pressing urgency from | the standpoint of providing the community with adequate communication services. I In reply to a question regarding the Central, Windsor and Haw thorn manual exchanges, Senator Cameron said that but for the intervention of the war the Department would have completed the plans to convert the Melbourne metropolitan network entirely to the automatic system. At the present time, 85% of the subscribers are served by automatic exchanges and the Department is anxious to convert the remaining services to automatic as soon as possible. . As a major step to replace the Central Exchange, a new automatic exchange is being erected in Russell Street, and this should be brought into service in 1952. Another automatic exchange (Civic) is being established temporarily in the Chief Telegraph Office in Post Office Place and plans are being completed for a further exchange (Batman) in Flinders Lane, near Queen Street. The Windsor manual exchange, which has already been relieved by transferring about 3500 manual services to automatic exchanges at Windsor, Balaclava, Toorak and St. Kilda will, it is estimated, cease operation in 1953. The Hawthorn manual exchange, which has been relieved by the transfer of about 3,500 ser vices to automatic exchanges at Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell, and will lose 600 subscribers to a new automatic exchange at Deepdene early in 1949, will also be discontinued in 1953. The Williamstown, Mordialloc and Cheltenham exchanges are scheduled to be cut over to automatic in 1949/50. Senator Cameron emphasised that the task ahead of the Department is difficult, and the restoration of services to a satisfactory standard of efficiency will only be achieved by enthusiastic and concerted teamwork. He expressed confidence that the great body of Post Office personnel will continue to give the utmost support in maintaining the highest possible grade of speed and reliability in the services provided for the community. In concluding, Senator Cameron referred to the Australian Broad casting Control Board which is to be appointed at an early date to control, develop and co-ordinate the broadcasting services in Australia. The Board will have wide powers and functions and the part n improving and expanding broad casting services, not only in populous centres but also in - outback, areas consistent with the interests of the general listening com munity.1954The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Wed 15 Sep 1954 Page 26½-YEAR BUILDING JOB NEARLY FINISHEDhttps://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2053965106½-YEAR BUILDING JOB NEARLY FINISHEDThe Russell Street telephone exchange, which for so long cut a gaunt figure of despair on the skyline, is at last smartening up. THE £1 million building will open for business in November as a post office and nerve centre for 2400 automatic telephone lines. To the passer-by its oatmeal bricks and £50,000 worth of insulated windows are appealing; to the 'new school' architect the building belongs to a past era. Melbourne, which builds slowly, must, however, be proud of it. The Russell Street exchange is the first big building completed in the city since 1940. Before its foundations were laid in 1948 the building was estimated to cost £436,250 and be finished in 3½ years. It has been going up for six years and a half and the taxpayers have paid dearly for the delay and the maelstrom of inflation in which it was caught. Up to September 1 the building had cost the Department of Works, which let the contract, £880,000. The final cost is expected to be £1,015,000. Add to that £115,000 for the vital artery of the building — a 1600-foot telephone cable tunnel running from Flinders Lane to Bourke Street. Cut by Bendigo miners through sandstone and soft clay 30 feet below Russell Street, the tunnel was scheduled for completion in two years. It took four years to finish.★ A FEDERAL Parliamentary accounts committee inquiring into the cost of the building last year made these findings: • The basic wage was £5 7/ when the job started. (It is £11 16/ today). In December, 1950 a 19/ a week marginal increase sent labor costs skyrocketing. • The contractor continually advertised for labor but workmen were being absorbed elsewhere under more attractive conditions. • In April, 1950, to retain what workmen there were on the job, approval was given for a nine hour working day for five days a week. For two years the men received 47 hours and a half pay for 45 hours' work. All the cement used in the building was imported, owing to a local shortage. The average price was £14 1/3 a ton, an increase of 204 per cent, on the original figure. At one time £22 10/ a ton was being paid for English cement. Most of the steel was imported—at a cost of £73,000, compared with an estimate of £39,940 in 1947. The price of hardwood scantlings rose 204 percent, from start to finish.★ STILL there is something to enthuse about in the new telephone exchange now. It is among the comparatively few tall buildings in the city. From 132 feet up on the roof of the eight stories there is a fine view of the River Yarra where it is crossed by Swan Street, bridge. Through the spire of Scots Church and the T. & G. Building tower you can even see the ships coming up the Bay. More significant, the Russell Exchange marks a firm step toward a completely automatic telephone system for the city and the elimination of the Central manual exchange. In November, Central will lose 1900 lines to the Russell Exchange — and that will mean 1900 fewer Y's to dial. The installed cost of the automatic equipment for each subscriber's line in the Exchange will be about £100. That is one reason why telephone bills are high. These subscribers will have new numbers, with the prefix call sign MF. They will be in the new telephone book issued in November to coincide with the opening of the Exchange. In the first six months of 1955 a further 900 lines will be transferred from Central.★ THERE is a whispered hope in the P.M.G. offices that the city will be completely automatic for the Olympic Games in December, 1956. By that time the great framework holding millions of wires and uni-selectors on the second floor of 'Russell' will have taken the place of 500 telephonists. Equipment is being installed on the second floor to take 10,000 subscribers' lines, and a similar number on the third floor. If Melbourne suddenly decided to lift the 132 feet height limit and grow up ward, the 'Russell' Exchange would have space on its fourth and fifth floors to take another 20,000 lines— equal to what Chicago exchanges handle. Meanwhile the new 'Batman' telephone exchange is going up in Flinders Lane; a 'Civic' exchange is planned for Elizabeth Street and a 'City West' for Lonsdale Street. The four main exchanges will look after the city's expanding needs and act as switching points for telephone services in the suburbs. At first, Russell Street Exchange will serve the city area bounded by Bourke Street, Domain Road in the south, Powlett' Street and Jolimont Street in the east and Elizabeth Street. By a Staff Correspondent.https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23452031New exchange soonY will be out for hundredsHUNDREDS of telephone subscribers now on the Central Exchange will be transferred to other exchanges when the new Russell st. exchange is opened next month. The seven-storey building which is estimated to have. cost about £ 1 million took seven years to complete. It will be a post-office and nerve centre for about 7,000 automatic telephone lines. Its main function will be to "extend Melbourne's automatic telephone services. It will also serve as a switching centre for telephone traffic from the eastern suburbs and some suburbs south of the Yarra. When the foundations of the building were laid in 1948 it was estimated that it would cost £436,250, but in- creased material and labor costs have more than doubled the original estimate._________________________________________
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 108591 | 1 PDF : 3,252 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |