City of Melbourne electric supply sub-station, 29 (23-25) George Parade, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
City of Melbourne electric supply sub-station, 29 (23-25) George Parade, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 104215
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:Style: ModernePeriod: Inter-WarDesigner: Beibly, E N chief assistant architect of the City of Melbourne?.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWWhat is significant?The electrical substation at 23-25 George Parade Melbourne, built in 1928 for the Melbourne City Council Electricity Supply Department.Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):• The building’s original external form;• The building’s external materials and façade detail from the 1930s substation conversion;• The building’s high level of integrity to its 1930s design;• The building’s moderne and art deco design features including the stepped parapet, decorative brickwork to the façade, central vertical stepped fin rising above the parapet, curvilinear concrete cantilevered eave;• Recessed rectangular steel framed windows with small paned upper sashes and louvred lower sashes, soldier brick lintels and curved brick sills; and• Recessed doorways: one, a wide metal roller door and the other a narrower six-pane windowed metal door.Later alterations are not significant.How it is significant?23-25 George Parade is of local historic and representative significance to the City of Melbourne.Why it is significant?23-25 George Parade is historically significant for its association with the development of services provided to Melbourne’s evolving private transport system. Constructed in 1887, the building operated as a shoeing forge to service horse transport from that year until 1920; in 1921 and 1923 the premises were altered to accommodate a garage and petrol station, which operated from the building until 1931.The electrical substation at 23-25 George Parade is also historically significant for its association with the development of Melbourne's electricity supply network established in 1894. In this year, the Melbourne City Council was the first metropolitan council to establish its own electricity supply and distribution network, which in turn facilitated the residential, commercial and industrial expansion of the city. The former substation is of historic significance as a substantial remnant of the 1930s infrastructure built by the Melbourne City Council as part of Melbourne’s expanding electricity network. (Criterion A)23-25 George Parade is one of several interwar substations, including 28 Crossley Street, 21 Market Lane and 12-14 Guildford Lane. These buildings share an industrial aesthetic that contributes to the richness of building form and small scale within the Hoddle Grid, sharing this scale with 27 George Parade. 23-25 George Parade is distinguished by its art deco aesthetic as a result of its later date of construction compared with the above examples. Its attributes include red brick walls and stucco mouldings above the door openings, a carefully composed pattern of openings across the façade, a decorative stepped parapet with a dark brick motif in moulded brickwork. The substation is enhanced by a high level of integrity and is legible as a modest 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.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWHistorically significant as a remnant of 1930s electricity infrastructure and the development of Melbourne’selectricity supply and its prior use as a horse shoe forge. · Significant as representative of a small scale interwar substation,with an industrial aesthetic and art deco styling..SITE HISTORY23-25 George Parade (known as Latrobe Parade until 1925) was originally purchased as part of Block 7, Allotment 16, by Archibald Walker in the fourth Crown Land Sale in 1839. The allotment was subdivided the following year, and a lane created between lots 15 and 16, establishing Latrobe Parade. In c1924 the lane’s name was changed to George Parade, after the club headquarters of political theorist Henry George was established there (RHSV 2018).By 1856 a brick building occupied the subject site, addressed then as 3 and 5 Latrobe Parade, with most of the lane comprising brick residences, boarding houses, the Melbourne City Court and General Christian Mission Office (Age 21 January 1858:1; Argus 28 October 1859:1; PROV VPRS 8168/P3 unit 46). In the 1890s the changes in street numbering throughout the city saw the property readdressed as 25 Latrobe Parade. In 1887 a single-storey brick building was built by James Anderson of 124 Flinders Lane East for farrier and veterinary surgeon William Hunter, for use as a veterinary shoeing forge (MCC registration no 3006, as cited in AAI, record no 74619). Hunter operated his business, Hunter and Son, from the property with his eldest child George, until his death in 1894. Between c1917 and 1920, another farrier, William Hamill, occupied the forge.Records show that a motor car garage, to service the motor cars and buses that were quickly replacing horse-drawn vehicles, operated from the property from 1921. The property changed hands in 1929 when it was purchased by gentlemen Abraham Howgate and Joseph Redapple (RB 1930). By August of the same year a petrol pump had been installed by Shell Co of Australia, and tenants Bermingham and Doyle operated the garage until 1931 (MBAI 11695; RB 1930 & 1930; S&Mc 1929). Following this brief tenancy, the property, still owned by Howgate and Redapple, lay vacant until 1938 (RB 1931-1938).The earlier building was replaced with the current building in 1937. In August 1937, the City of Melbourne advertised tenders for the 'erection and completion of electric supply substation' in George Parade (Age 21 August 1937:5). It is assumed that these works replaced the nineteenth-century building. By 1948 the Mahlstedt map shows the building as a substation, occupying the allotment in its entirety (Figure 1 and Figure 2).The electric substation operated under Melbourne City Council until the privatisation of the electricity industry saw it transferred to CitiPower Ltd in 1995.Figure 1. Detail from 1948 Mahlstedt plan shows rebuilding to the subject property. (Source: Mahlstedt Map Section 1, no 6, 1948)Figure 2. Photograph of George Parade west c.1972, showing the subject property (outlined in red) with former 'M C C' signage above eave. (Source: Halla c1972, STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA.NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1935https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11017986CITY COUNCIL EXPERTS RETURN FROM WORLD TOURWill Suggest ImprovementsAfter a tour which took them to Europe. North America, South America, and South Africa, Mr. E. N. Beilby, chief assistant architect of the City of Melbourne, and Mr. J. S. Penrose, superintendent of abattoirs and cattle markets, returned to Melbourne yesterday in the liner Ceramic.….Although the buildings in the City of Melbourne are not so far behind those in other cities of the world, there is yet ample scope for Improvement and Mr. Beilby, in his report, will suggest several alterations and Improvements to council buildings. During his tour he inspected council buildings, markets, baths, freezing works, and other municipal buildings..1937TENDERSCity of Melbournec) Erection and Completion, of electric supply sub-station, George-parade, Melbourne.Specifications, City Architects' Office.
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1211116
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 104215 | 1 JPEG : 238 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |