Paterson's Furniture Warehouse, 152-154-156-158 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Paterson's Furniture Warehouse, 152-154-156-158 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 109410
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
Part of:
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:
Style: ModerneConstruction date: 1934Notable features: Terracotta facing, ribbed vertically with central 'feature'..ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEW.STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEWHAT IS SIGNIFICANTThe former Patersons Pty Ltd Building at 152-158 Bourke Street, built in 1934, and designed byarchitect Arthur W Purnell in the Moderne style, is significant.HOW IT IS SIGNIFICANTThe former Patersons Pty Ltd Building at 152-158 Bourke Street is of local historic and associativesignificance to the City of Melbourne. It also has significance for its association with the Patersonfamily (manufacturers and retailers of furniture in Melbourne over an extended period). It also haspotential value as an historic archaeological place.WHY IT IS SIGNIFICANTThe site of 152-158 Bourke Street is historically significant for its use as a commercial site from asearly as 1884 (Criterion A).In 1896 new premises were built on the site for the Paterson family furniture-making business,established in Richmond in 1884. The present building at 152-158 Bourke Street, built in 1934 forPaterson Pty Ltd as a furniture store and warehouse to a design by architect Arthur W Purnell, ishistorically significant for its association with manufacturing and retailing in the City of Melbourne.From 1938, and particularly after World War Two, Patersons extended its stock to include a widerange of home wares and expanded into suburban Melbourne, regional Victoria and interstate; by1950 it operated 22 branches. Patersons Pty Ltd was listed as a public company in 1949 andcontinued to be an important part of the Bourke Street retail strip until 1987. (Criterion A)The site is part of the archaeological resources of the central city and has research value as aninventoried site. These sites have the potential to retain relics and archaeological deposits. It is alsoassumed that such deposits have the potential to yield knowledge not available from other sourceswhich may contribute meaningfully to our understanding of settlement in Melbourne. (Criterion C)The former Patersons Pty Ltd Building at 152-158 Bourke Street is significant for its aestheticqualities. The upper façade is a fine example of the Moderne style that was current in the Inter-warperiod. An emphatic vertical expression is derived from the ten vertical fins that run the full height ofthe façade and extend beyond the stepped parapet. Each fin projects slightly from the main façadeand is clad in distinctive green glazed terra cotta tiles. Decorative elements such as the balconetteand flag pole are located high on the building and contribute to the sense of verticality andflamboyance. Horizontal bands of windows over concrete spandrels intersect with the vertical fins ateach floor level. A repeated curvaceous Art Deco motif has been inscribed across the lowest concretespandrel at the bottom edge of the façade. (Criterion E)The former Patersons Pty Ltd Building at 152-158 Bourke Street is significant for its long associationwith the Paterson family, who manufactured furniture in Richmond from 1884, who sold furniture andhomewares from this site from 1896 and from the current building from 1934 until 1987, and whoestablished Patersons stores across Victoria and interstate. The building is also significant for itsassociation with architect Arthur W Purnell, who, both on his own and in partnership with others,designed houses, factories, offices, shops, sports centres and warehouses. A large number of thesebuildings still exist, including the Melbourne landmark Michael’s Corner (1915) on Elizabeth Street,Melbourne. (Criterion H).GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYCites:Nigel Lewis December 1976, Historic and Architectural Survey of the Central City of Melbourne Bourke Street, East Area 8 of the Survey Commissioned By The Historic Buildings Preservation Council (76), Page 18; M24-L44:The present facade was erected in 1934. The date of the building permit was 24.11.1933 for the front facade alteration - fixing of architectural terracotta and plastering. The architect was A. W. Purnell and the builder M. L. Maffey.1The interior appears to have been renovated at the same time as the decoration is consistent with the style of the facade. The facade is a pleasant example of the commercial gothic style with green terracotta ribs giving vertical emphasis contrasted by the panels of cream plasterwork. The lowest panels consist of interesting art deco motifs contrasted with the plain panels above. The decorative panels and the ribs flowing over the set back in the facade, and the decorative vertical name plates on the ground floor all contrast with the functionalist horizontal lines and name above the show cases. This horizontal element balances the vertical emphasis on the upper floors.RECOMMENDATION:Although this building is intact externally and internally and combines many themes current in the 1930's the use of coloured terracotta, decorative plaster panels and commercial Gothic style - comparison with other contemporary buildings (viz. Coles Store,. 299-307 Bourke Street) preclude It from recommendation. (to HBPC)1. Melbourne City Council building permit.City of Melbourne Building Permit Application Index(Ancestry: record 395/1200 A'Beckett - Bourke series)July 1919 2053 £300 erection of shopfront etc1924 6370 £5500 Additions to premises1933 14826 £6500 Additions and alts193415021 £1250 Alts etc,15467 shopfront1936 £ 3100 rear additions.Melbourne University ArchivesCLEMENTS LANGFORD PTY. LTD.Paterson's furniture warehouse152-4 Bourke Street, 1896Fisher & Yourelle264 Patersons Pty. Ltd Footscray A.W. Purnell and Pearce, Melbourne 1938.Newspapers:The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) Wed 10 Jan 1934 Page 17see imagehttps://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243219999?searchTerm=Patersons%20Pty%20Ltd.Bourke Street Firm Rebuilds,PATERSON's Pty. Ltd., of Bourke Street, are about to undertake a big rebuilding scheme on modern lines. The existing furniture display rooms were recently added to by the erection of an extra floor in reinforced concrete. Since then the properties to the west, 156-158 Bourke Street, and to the north of the existing warehouse have been purchased. , Most of these buildings will be demolished, together with part of the existing building, and will be merged into one big structure, giving a total floor area of approximately 29.000 square feet. The sketch shows the design of the Bourke Street facade, which will be modern in style with the vertical piers emphasised. a large electric sign has been made an integral part of the de sign of the building. The total frontage to Bourke Street will be more than 53 feet. The new premises will be five stories in height, the top floors being of reinforced concrete. Staircases throughout the building will be renewed, together with offices, and a luncheon-room will be provided for the employes.The architect is Mr Arthur w. Purnell, of 314 Collins Street. Digitisation generously supported byThe Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)Thursday 8 February 1934 - Page 10CITY PROPERTY SOLDA three-story, brick factory on land on Brlen Lane, off 146-150 Little Bourke Street, has been sold by the Commercial Banking Co. of Sydney to Paterson's Ptv. Ltd. The property measures 35 by 96 feet and brought £5100, or £145/15/ a foot. Most of the factory will be demolished as part of an extensive rebuilding scheme.The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)Thursday 23 August 1934 - Page 12Staff Dance at Ormond Hall. The members of the staffs of Pater- son's Pty. Ltd., Pears Pty. Ltd. and the Richmond Furnishing Co. held their third annual ball last night in the Ormond Hall..CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEW.SITE HISTORYThe block between Coverlid Place and Brien Lane was owned by William Martin and J J Thomsonfrom the 1850s. It was bought by Abbondio Campi in 1882 and Campi’s first store was built in 1884-85, and his second store in 1889 (Fels, Lavelle & Mider 1993).See Figure 96. Patersons Furniture Warehouse in 1920 shown in a section of Melbourne 1920, showing Bourke Street,1920, by Row (Source: SLV).The buildings at 152-158 Bourke Street comprise six interconnected brick buildings between BourkeStreet and Little Bourke Street, varying from two to five storeys. The former Patersons Pty Ltdbuilding faces Bourke Street. Several former warehouses stand at Coverlid Place, including two thatwere built by William Radden in 1885 (at the northern end) and in 1889 (at the southern end). A twostoreybuilding constructed in the mid-Victorian era faces Little Bourke Street (CoM Maps 2017). Thiscitation assesses the former Patersons Pty Ltd building only.Patersons Pty LtdThe land on which the subject building stands at 152-158 Bourke Street has been occupied by anumber of commercial enterprises since 1866 (Fels, Lavelle & Mider 1993). It is now occupied by theformer Patersons Pty Ltd building.Patersons Pty Ltd was first established in 1884 as a small Richmond furniture business, later theRichmond Furniture Company, by Simeon Nathan, and his brother, George Nathan. Another branchwas opened in Footscray in 1889. Simeon became mayor of Richmond in 1896 (Daily Telegraph 1August 1925:13; University of Melbourne 2012; Age 29 August 1936:6).In 1896, new premises were built for the business at 152-154 Bourke Street, Melbourne, and namedPatersons Furniture Warehouse (see Figures 96 and 97). Designed by architects Fisher and Yourelle,it was constructed by master builders Clements Langford Pty Ltd (University of Melbourne 2012).Patersons Furniture opened another large store in Fitzroy in 1911.See Figure 97. Patersons Furniture Warehouse built at 152-154 Bourke Street in 1896. (Source: University ofMelbourne 2012)Patersons Furniture Company was incorporated in 1923 and grew into one of Melbourne’s largestfurniture firms (University of Melbourne 2012).Simeon Nathan, the founder of Patersons Pty Ltd with his brother George, died from heart failure on30 July 1925 aged 64 years; he was chairman of directors of both Patersons Pty Ltd and theRichmond Furniture Company, and president of the Victorian Bowling Association at the time of hisdeath. His son, Harold Benjamin Nathan, born in Richmond in 1887, became chairman-director ofPatersons Pty Ltd (Riverine Herald 21 July 1938:3; Daily Telegraph 1 August 1925:13).A large fire in 1929 that started at Payne’s Bon Marche in Bourke Street caused significant damage tothe three upper floors of Patersons Furniture Warehouse (Sydney Morning Herald 22 July 1929:11).A new building for Patersons Pty Ltd was constructed in 1934. The building was designed in theModerne style by architect Arthur W Purnell, who, in that year, also invited tenders for extensions andalterations at the rear of premises at 152-158 Bourke Street (Age 31 January 1934:4). Purnell’ssketch of the new Patersons building can be seen in Figure 98.In March 1934, the Age reported that:An interesting example of present-day tendencies to introduce colour into the facades ofshopping premises - tints now produced scientifically to accord with local climaticconditions - will be found…in the new stores being erected in Bourke-street for Paterson’sPty. Ltd. The whole front of the building will be faced with [terra cotta] tiles of a mottlegreentone, these being selected because of the southern aspect. It is of interest to notethat, after repeated experiments, a bright color is preferable in the city when buildings faceto the south. As will be seen from a sketch of the architect, Mr. A. W. Purnell, of Collinsstreet,the vertical piers, which are to project about eight inches, will be accentuated, andthe central portion treated as the main focal point to the eye of an observer. The balconetteand canopy above the middle of the facade were included in the design to strike a truebalance between the various structural elements. Other harmonious notes will be theornamental panels and shallow bas-relief between the piers at the first floor level. Thespaces here will be dressed with cement renderings of a dark ivory shade to match thesubdued appearance imparted by the green tiles.An additional floor area of 8200 square feet will be available when the new premises arecompleted, or a total area for the block of 24,500 square feet. Internally, the ceilings will belined with fibrous plaster, with the beams and cornices of modern and distinctive design.The columns will be cased up to the height of seven feet in figured Australian hardwoodpanels, and a staircase of selected blackwood incorporated. The manager’s office on thefirst floor will receive special treatment, acid glass and chromium being specified forlighting and other fittings. It is proposed to install powerful lights at the top of the columns,by which arrangement customers entering from the head of the staircase at the front of thebuilding will be enabled to see a wide range of goods. The street windows will be formed ofsand-blasted glass in an amber shade to give a soft and diffused light. As an integral partof the elevation an electric name sign will be introduced vertically and mid-way in thefaçade.The foundations will be completed shortly by the master builder, Mr. M. L. Massey, and thestores will be occupied by the firm in about four months (Age 27 March 1934:5).The new premises housed a variety of furniture for the home (see Figure 99).In 1938, Patersons took over Pears’ Furniture stores, including six ‘modern shops’ at Horsham,Ballarat, Colac, Warragul, St Arnaud and Chapel Street, Prahran (Horsham Times 1 July 1938:1).Director and chairman of Patersons Pty Ltd, Harold Nathan, died at Toorak in 1938, just weeks afterthe merger with Pears’ Furniture (Riverine Herald 21 July 1938:3).Under the leadership of managing director, Maurice Nathan, Patersons Pty Ltd underwent significantexpansion after World War Two, stocking a range of items for the home. In 1948, the companymanaged sixteen branches in Victoria and in that year took over Andrade’s furnishings in MountGambier, South Australia (Border Watch 16 October 1948:12). Formed as a public company,Patersons (Australia) Ltd, in 1949, in 1950 the company issued 600,000 shares to provide for furtherbusiness expansion (Sun 12 December 1950:3). In this year it operated 22 branches.In 1955, Patersons Pty Ltd purchased properties with frontages to Bourke Street and Little BourkeStreet from G J Coles, who had bought the properties in 1954 to build a new store, for approximately£250,000. Patersons planned to demolish Ushers Hotel at 202-204 Bourke Street and the adjoiningMaples store building to make way for the ‘largest furniture emporium in Australia’. The buildingdesign by Bogle and Banfield was to follow the ‘latest American store planning trends’ and house theheadquarters of the company, by which time had 33 branch stores. The existing Paterson store at152-158 Bourke Street was to remain (Argus 12 August 1955:3). There is, however, no evidence thatthe planned Paterson store was constructed.By 1956, Patersons Pty Ltd had adopted the slogans ‘Australia’s Most Progressive Home Furnishers’and ‘The Firm With A Million Friends’, and had introduced a hire purchase scheme. By this year,Patersons sold furniture, carpets, soft furnishings, kitchen appliances, toys, beds and bedding, andheaters (Argus 14 June 1956:10).In May 1987, the Patersons department store in Deniliquin closed. It was reported by the localDeniliquin newspaper that Patersons Pty Ltd had been bought out by another company on 22 May1987 (Deniliquin Pastoral Times 29 May 1987:1).Today the former Paterson Pty Ltd building at 152-158 Bourke Street houses businesses and anumber of retail outlets.See Figure 98. Purnell’s sketch of the new Patersons building at 152-154 Bourke Street, 1934 (Source: Age 27 March1934:5).See Figure 99. Advertisement for Patersons, 1935 (Source: Argus 6 April 1935:20)..Arthur W Purnell, architectThe University of Melbourne Archives is the custodian of Arthur W Purnell’s architectural drawings,and provides the following information about Purnell’s practice:Arthur W. Purnell (1878-1964) was a Geelong-born architect who built a thriving practice inMelbourne. Arthur Purnell had a long and successful career, maintaining a busyarchitectural practice in Melbourne - both on his own and in partnership with others - untilhe retired in the late 1950s. Over this time he designed hundreds of buildings, ranging fromgarages to grandstands.His eclectic repertoire included Chinoiserie, Italianate, Modern, Neo-Classical, QueenAnne, Spanish Mission and even what would be described today as Post-Modern. Alwayseager to move with the times, he designed ornate Queen Anne-style houses in his thirtiesand plain ranch-style houses in his seventies. He also designed many factories, offices,shops and warehouses. A large number of these still exist, including the Melbournelandmark Michael’s Corner (1915) on Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.Purnell’s commissions frequently reflected his own interests. As a lover of sport, forexample, he designed a…variety of sporting facilities, including the Clifton Springs GolfClub (1926), the grandstand at Western Oval (1929), a greyhound-racing track atTottenham (1927), the Olympia Sea Water Swimming Pool at South Melbourne (1937) andthe Rosebud Yacht Club (1939). Indeed, he is perhaps best remembered for his last majorcommission, the Olympic Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (1953–1955).Regrettably, many of his best buildings have been demolished, such as the Wattle PathPalais De Danse and Café (1922), perhaps better known as St Moritz Ice Skating Rink.Between 1900 and 1910 Purnell lived and worked in China. At least a dozen of Purnell’sbuildings still exist in China and recently Purnell has been ‘rediscovered’ by the Chineseand acclaimed as a major architect there.Purnell initially set up on his own in the Nicholson Chambers at 101 Swanston Street. Thepractice gradually grew, so he moved to larger premises in Phair’s Buildings at 327 CollinsStreet. In 1915 he went into partnership with Isadore George Beaver, a Manchester-bornarchitect 19 years his senior. They moved office to Altson’s Buildings at 82 ElizabethStreet. In 1925 the partnership with George Beaver ended and the following year Purnellmoved to the Equitable Building at 314 Collins Street. In 1928 he went into partnership withEric Hazel Round and William Alfred Graham.Purnell also had a long-standing and a close client-architect relationship with AlexanderGeorge (‘Alec’) Barlow (1880–1937), a trailblazing, somewhat shady Melbourne car dealer.Redesigned car show rooms, racing stables and a house were amongst the workcompleted by Purnell for Barlow (University of Melbourne Archives 2016).
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 109410 | 1 PDF : 807 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |