Mutual Store, 256-262 Flinders Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Mutual Store, 256-262 Flinders Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 104010 1
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 2021:Period: VictorianDATE: 1892;ASSOCIATIONS: The Mutual Store Ltd,;DESIGNER: Reed, Smart & Tappin;BUILDER: McConnell & McIntosh.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceHistoryOld clients of the architects, Reed Smart and Tappin, provided their biggest commission to - date with the reconstruction of the old Mutual Store in 1891. Established in 1872, the old Mutual Store was an extension of the earlier port - side warehouses, stocking and manufacturing a huge range of merchandise. They were the universal providers. Spirits and wines, furniture, porcelain, mercery. Millinary and drapery, boots and shoes, wood and coal, fruit, confectionary all were available. They made dresses to order, they leased out horses and carriages and they sold hay and corn. One W Harrison managed this kaleidoscopic collection. For the architects' part, this was one of several large commissions in the decade before 1900 sited in Flinders Street. They ranged from the first Ball and Welch building and Metropolitan Gas Company to the Chapter House annexe at St Pauls. The contractors were McConnell and McIntosh, for the first section signing in June 1891, Murray and Crow fitted out the fitted and Reynolds Oliver and Peters added the delivery branch at the rear in 1898.Continuing into the 1960s as the Mutual Store, it became the Mutual Centre in the 1970s, receiving into its basement an indoor bowling centre as sign of progress.DescriptionAn English Queen Anne revival facade with its broken pediments, elongated and profuse cornice bracketting, its character is most evident in details such as the scrolled pediments and foliated panels and particularly the stylised pediment to the ground level entry. Above the parapet, (now flanked by additional walls) is an attic level with a central round window. Here scrolled Queen Anne pediments frame an enthroned female figure which cast greeting from a central vantage point above the attic. Large ornamented window groups create the main facade character, graduating in height or form as each storey mounts. A central oriel reinforces the Queen Anne detail above and below it.IntegrityNew shopfront s {now replaced) were added in 1904 and the canopy is new. An extra storey appears s to have been added behind the parapet pediments.StreetscapeShares period detail, scale and materials with adjoining streetscapeSignificanceAn ornate and successful design in the English Queen Anne manner distinguished by bold and unusual cement ornamentation at the parapet..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 78, p4;Victoria Illustrated: 136,142,218; also CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS 5039LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Record 75866 Reed, Smart & Tappin; Mutual Store Pty Melbourne VIC Warehouses McConnell & McIntosh - Leveson St Nth Melb 1891 06 19 5039NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (VIC)The original Mutual Store was established in 1872 and the present building resulted from a major reconstruction in 1891 to a design by the architect Reed Smart and Tappin. The Mutual Store was one of several large variety warehouses in Flinders Street that developed the mail-order business from the earliest dock-side warehouses. A major competitor was the nearby Ball and Welch (the building was designed by the same architects). It is an example of Melbourne's commercial power in the late 19th century.Classified: 06/06/1994HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSThe original Mutual Store was established in 1872 and the present building resulted from a major reconstruction in 1891 to a design by the architect Reed Smart and Tappin. The Mutual Store was one of several large variety warehouses in Flinders Street that developed the mail-order business from the earliest dock-side warehouses. A major competitor was the nearby Ball and Welch (the building was designed by the same architects). It is an example of Melbourne's commercial power in the late 19th century..DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1930r56-262 The Mutual Store Ltd, drapers & lit grocers256-262 White, Wm., licensed grocer
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Record number:
1210121
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 104010 1 | 1 PDF : 1,011 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |