Michael's Building, 265-269 Elizabeth Street & 347-353 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Michael's Building was the progeny of Emanuel Michael, pawnbroker and jeweller, and his architect, A. W. Purnell.
The builder was W. H. Murphy.
Title:
Michael's Building, 265-269 Elizabeth Street & 347-353 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 103198
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:
Period: EdwardianConstruction date: 1915-1916Materials: Reinforced concrete, stuccoedNotable features: Corner site, enhanced by oriole.ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:.Built for Emanuel Michael 1916, by WH MurrayDesigned by: Purnell, A W.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceHistoryMichael's Building was the progeny of Emanuel Michael, pawnbroker and jeweller, and his architect, A. W. Purnell.The builder was W. H. Murphy. Before Michael, in the 1880s, the corner had been shared by a pork butcher and another pawnbroker (Joshua Langley). Langley called his premises a `pawn office,' staying there until the early 1900s, before he moved into the adjacent 261 Elizabeth Street (q.v.). Michael's pawnshop and a confectioner (Denis Black, 1920s) was the usual tenant combination.Emphasis changed, perhaps with a new generation, in the 1940s. H. I. Michael presided over a chemist and tobacconist shop, at a half-way point to today's purely photographic enterprise. Confectionery also had become more precisely `dairy produce' in the hands of P. J. Evans. Another generation saw H. I. Michael & Son now dealing as a chemist and the adjoining premises now a restaurant operated by Hermitage Wines; wine shops having been in the vicinity (further south in Elizabeth Street) since the 1880s. Today, Michael's is still run by the family (Tony, Alan Michael).DescriptionA three-storey corner reinforced concrete stuccoed building, which possesses an oriel bay to the corner and multiple window bays to the adjoining facades, creating an overall three dimensional effect from what is typically a two-dimensional requirement. The corner bay has a round cupola-like tower extension, which is joined to adjacent bays by a simple main cornice ornamented with stylized brackets either side of each bay. Otherwise the facade is plain, being augmented only by panelling within each facet. The canopy appears to be generally original, with exposed bracket supporting members and embossed metal soffits.Built of reinforced concrete (1915-16), the design illustrates this fact by its finish, the cantilevering window bays and large, seemingly unsupported glazed areas. In contrast to the almost contemporary Barnet corner designs which always used oriel windows, this elevation is austere and functional. Purnell has designed within Barnet's picturesque French Romanesque revival idiom, but has stripped it to an almost skeletal form, devoid of the applied ornamentation and brick veneers which had been required for external wall fire rating in earlier times.Arthur Purnell had practised in China during the Boxer rebellion (1900) and absorbed a little of the eastern architectural manner, as demonstrated by his own house in Punt Road, South Yarra, and possibly the unusual approach (given contemporary architecture) seen in this building. The pronounced glazing mullions and simple panelling of the cement surfaces is an indication of this.External IntegrityThe ground level has been completely replaced, although perhaps pier lines have been retained, the piers have been refaced. The canopy fascia has been reclad and the supporting beams boxed in. Numerous signs have been added to the lower level and the upper.StreetscapeSuccessfully designed for its corner site and related in part to the earlier mainly face brick elevations which extend to the south. It relates in detail to 263 Elizabeth and in scale and finish to 249-59.SignificanceAn unusual commercial design for the period given its early use of rendered reinforced concrete as a wall cladding, and the stylistic idiosyncrasies of its designer. It has been owned and occupied by one family since construction, its use changing subtly with each generation from pawnshop to photographic warehouse..GRAEME BUTLER 1982-3, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (VIC) 20TH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE SURVEY and entered on the 20th CENTURY BUILDINGS REGISTER.NEWSPAPERS:The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) Thu 24 Jun 1915 Page 12see https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/242355684`NEW CITY BUILDING ELIZABETH ST. CORNER SOLDFurther distinct evidence of the re- turn of confidence in city realty is afforded by the purchase of an important site on the south-west corner of Elizabeth street and Lonsdale street by Mr Emmanuel Michael at auction on Tues- day through the agency of Messrs Yeo, Crossthwaite and Company. The land, which is now vacant, has a frontage of 30 feet 31/2 inches to Elizabeth street by a depth of 66 feet along (Lonsdale street, with a party wall on portion of the southern boundary. The price, paid was £8,000, equal to about £264 a foot on the Elizabeth street frontage. Immediately after making the purchase. Mr Michael, Instructed his architect, Mr A. W. Purnell, who has erected a number of city properties lately, to proceed with the construction of a large shop and office building on the site. The new structure will be reinforced concrete, fireproof, and have three stories, with sufficient strength to carry another two, which will be added later. The ground floor will be divided Into four shops with cantilever verandahs of modern type.Considerable interest has been taken in this section of the city of late on account of talk of a new central rail- way station in Lonsdale street. Although the promoter of this scheme has found initial difficulties through so much of the property thereabouts being held in entailed estates, investors are keenly watching developments, and looking for chances to secure a footing among any freeholds that, may become available. Tenders for the new building will be invited without delay. '`The Age' online: January 8, 2021`Picture of the past gone in a flashsee https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/camera-mecca-shuts-for-good-after-105-years-of-trade-on-one-site-20210108-p56ski.htmlsee https://www.facebook.com/groups/899174076856396/permalink/3626532424120534/by Carolyn WebbIt’s been a Melbourne landmark for more than 100 years, and a focal point for lovers of photography, but now the shutters have come down for good on Michaels camera store in Melbourne’s CBD.It’s survived knocks such as the rapid decline in the use of film and the introduction of smartphones but is now going solely online. It closed its doors for the last time last night after COVID-19 struck the final blow.Owner Peter Michael said customer numbers were 80 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels, and the store, on the corner of Elizabeth and Lonsdale streets, couldn’t hang on.He said the pause placed on the return of office workers to the CBD this week showed the end of the pandemic was uncertain. ‘‘It’s costing a fair bit to stay open. I’m going backwards.’’He felt ‘‘very emotional’’ and it was ‘‘extremely difficult’’, but he had decided to operate online.The business was opened in 1916 as a gun and pawn shop by Mr Michael’s great-grandfather, Emanuel Michael. It became a pharmacy in 1925 that also sold photography equipment. Mr Michael, 62, worked as a child for his father, Alan, counting pills, cleaning and delivering goods. He sold his first big camera, a Minolta SRT 101, for $250 in 1971. He was 13.During and after World War II, the pharmacy was known for selling contraceptives such as condoms, including a thriving mail order business. An elderly woman told Mr Michael that she had worked there in the 1950s but never told her friends, such was the taboo around such matters.From 1976, Michaels solely focused on photography.Elton John bought a Polaroid camera at Michaels. Lionel Richie, Bette Midler, and John Farnham have been customers.Theft was a constant. Recently, a man walked out without paying for four $200 cameras. Mr Michael would like to donate his museum of 10,000 items, which he believes is the largest private camera collection in the world, to an institution such as the Melbourne Museum, as ‘‘a lasting tribute to our family and our place in Melbourne’’.Pieces include a metal ‘‘birdie’’ of the kind that early photographers whistled into, while their head was under the cloth camera shade,There are two telephoto lenses that were damaged in the 1986 bombing of the Turkish consulate in South Yarra, and a sleek 1928 green ladies’ pocket-sized Vanity Camera that includes a powder compact, lipstick and mirror.Customer Adrian Roy, 65, of Glen Waverley, said he felt ‘‘shock and dismay’’ at the store closing.A keen photographer, Mr Roy has been coming to Michaels for more than 30 years, often just to look at museum exhibits, such as photos taken using Leica cameras.‘‘You’ve got to follow business realities, I know, and this COVID business has slammed everybody, tragically. It’s unfortunate,’’ Mr Roy said.Michaels is trading online at michaels.com.au.News -Picture of the past gone in a flash THE AGE
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Record number:
1204483
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 103198 | 1 PDF : 1,050 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |