The Block arcade, 96-102 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
The Block arcade, 96-102 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 103321
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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Period: Late VictorianConstruction date: 1892-3.ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2021:.VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTERH0032https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/730.Statement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The Block Arcade was developed by financier Benjamin Fink. The Collins Street section of the building was completed in February 1892 and is similar in style to the Milano Galleria Vittorio Arcade in Italy. The new shopping arcade was designed by David. C. Askew of the architectural firm Twentyman and Askew. The cost of erection was £46 233. The bluestone footings for the building came from the original structure on the site, the Briscoe & Company Bulk Store. The site of 96-102 Elizabeth Street was purchased by the City Property Company Ltd in January 1892. Architect David Askew was called upon to continue his style for the arcade and this area was completed in October the following year. The Block Arcade comprises of arcade shops with mezzanine levels above for social rooms and offices, shops to Collins Street, Block Place and Elizabeth Street and four levels of office space above. The arcade forms an L-shape with a polygonal planned space with a glazed roof at the corner of the L. The kink in the plan was due to the shape of the original block subdivision and the location of Block Place, the lane behind. Linking the two spaces is an elaborately patterned mosaic floor of tiles, which were imported from Europe. When the arcade was constructed the Building and Engineering Journal noted that the flooring contained the largest area of mosaics yet laid down in Australia. In 1907, scenic artist Philip Goatcher for the Singer Sewing Machine Company decorated the ceiling of their premises on the east corner of the Collins Street entry to the arcade. The other shop to Collins Street, which housed the first Kodak shop in Melbourne contains an elaborate pressed metal ceiling. The facades to Collins and Elizabeth Street are designed in the Victorian Mannerist style with elaborate stucco decoration. Particular facade elements include; triangular and segmental pediments; rustication and an exaggerated cornice with brackets. Features of the upstairs office spaces include timber joinery around lift entries, tessellated tiles to the lobby spaces, elaborate leadlight windows and decorative plasterwork to arches in the corridors. There is also one surviving communal timber telephone box situated in a corridor.How is it significant?The Block Arcade is of architectural, aesthetic, social and historical importance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?The Block Arcade is of architectural and aesthetic importance as an excellent intact example of a shopping arcade. The design draws on early and influential European models and as such is important in its ability to demonstrate the essential and typical qualities of those designs and the continuity of the tradition of covered shopping streets. The Elizabeth and Collins Street facades are fine examples of the Mannerist style demonstrating many of the characteristic elements, such as a combination of triangular and segmental pediments and rustication. The Block Arcade is of architectural and aesthetic significance as it features lavish interior decoration, including an extraordinary mosaic tile floor. Based on the Milan Galleria Vittoria, it has a glass roof over the arcade with a glass dome at is corner. Its internal spaces, with their high quality finishes, have been maintained and the arcade remains a grand and prestigious retailing precinct. Attention to detail has also been carried through to the office spaces on the levels above the arcade.The Block Arcade is of social and historical importance as the grandest and most fashionable amongst what became an extensive network of retail arcades that provided an alternative pedestrian route to Melbourne's major streets. Many of the arcades constructed in Melbourne before the turn of the century have not survived or have been altered considerably. The Block Arcade is important as an essential element in the social institution of doing The Block. This was a friendly expression referring to the stylish shopping trend of the late 19th century which involved starting in Collins Street at Swanston, then moving west to Elizabeth, north to Little Collins Street and back to Swanston. The Block was the place to be seen and those who frequented the popular thoroughfare, its shops and tea houses were often recorded by caricaturists in the city's social pages..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites MURPHY ARCHITECTS, JOHN AND PHYLLIS 1976. HISTORIC BUILDINGS STUDY OF PART OF THE C.B.D. MELBOURNE : { AREA 1} WITH MURPHY, JOCK, FOR HISTORIC BUILDINGS PRESERVATION COUNCIL,1; CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS 5656.LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEXRecord 75183 Askew, -; City Property Co Melbourne VIC Shops Waring & Rowdon - 310 Queen St 1892 10 31 5656 -MCC registration no 5656 [Burchett Index]. Fee 32.0.0 premises including fourteen shops, Elizabeth - 'The Block'.HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSMelbourne's grandest arcade, the Block was constructed in two sections in 1891 and 1893 for the famous Melbourne financier, Benjamin Fink. The architect was D C Askew. Everything about the building is of the highest quality and reflective of the wealth of 19th century Melbourne and Victoria. It is of seminal importance to the social history of the central city and derives its name from the 19th century tradition of `doing the block' around Melbourne's fashionable shopping streets..NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (VIC)A particularly fine shopping arcade of 1890-93, designed by Twentyman and Askew in a Boom version of the French Renaissance style, with handsome plate glass shop windows, an octagon at the junction on the two arms, mosaic tiled floors, a glass roof of which some sheets survive with their original decoration, cast-iron roof principals with elegant openwork spandrels, and six and seven storey buildings facing on to Elizabeth and Collins Street: in all a late monument to the financial boom and to B. J. Fink, J. McAlister Howden and the other members of the City Property Company, for which it was built.Classified: 19/07/1973.NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935)Saturday 28 March 1891 - Page 29https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/198045584A NEW ARCADE.One of the most noticeable additions to the many beautiful structures which grace the streets of the Victorian capital will be an arcade, portion of which stands on the site of Messrs. George and George's premises destroyed by fire in 1889. When completed, the building will be the largest of its kind in Melbourne, and also add a novelty in that it will be rectangular in shape, running back from Collins-street on the one side and from Elizabeth-street on the other.The arcade is to have a depth of 208 feet from Collins-street, and 166 feet from the frontage there will be an octagon 34- feet in diameter, from which a wing is to run to Elizabeth-street, a distance of 132 feet. The style of architecture is to be that known as the French Renaissance. At present only the portion fronting on Collins-street is in the hands of the contractor, the wing which is to be built at a right angle not having yet been commenced. The entrance takes up 23 feet 6 inches of the 66 feet frontage, and on either side of it will be a commodious shop. One of these will occupy a space 70 feet by 22 feet, and the other is to be 40 feet by 22 feet, both having rooms connected with them overhead. The shops bordering the gallery will be about 16 feet by 12 feet, and each one will be let with the room over it on the first floor. Five stories are to be put to the building, together with ft basement extending over the whole of the site. The facade will present an imposing appearance, the front wall of the lower story being set off with six piers of polished granite, whilst that of the upper fiats will be finished in cement, having rusticated, panelled and enriched pilasters. Figures in high relief are to border the front windows in the top story, and the whole will be surmounted with a bold and striking cornice. The paving of the floor at the entrance is to be set off by four polished piers, and the remainder of the piers in the interior will be finished in Keen's cement highly enriched. The arcade will have variable widths — from 15 to 20 feet — and shops of the usual kind ranged on either side. A gallery continued to the height of the ceiling of the second story will be covered in with semi-circular ornamental iron and glass work, whilst the octagon will be closed overhead with the same materials in the shape of a semi-ellipse. On the second floor a large compartment has been designed for dining rooms, and the remainder of the flat and the upper floors will be divided into offices and rooms. Six lifts are to be placed in various parts of the building, and the convenience of tenants and visitors has been fully studied in regard to staircases and passages. The con tractor, Mr. J. McLean, commenced operations in July Inst, and it is anticipated that this portion of the work will be completed by next October. Plans have boon prepared and arrangements made for the construction of the wing connecting the main gallery with Elizabeth-street, and its erection is to be proceeded with in June. The new wing will be built on similar lines to the main portion of the arcade, having a gallery of the same width, five stories above ground. Mr. D. C. Askew, the architect for the building, which is to be called `The Block,’ estimates that it will be opened about August, 1892, and that its total cost will be £87,000.See https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201455084.Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931)Saturday 26 May 1906 - Page 36https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163070062Askew obituary 1906Mr. David C. Askew, C.E.By the death of Mr. David C. Askew, C.E., at the age of 52 years, Melbourne has lost one of its well-known figures in the engineering and architectural world. He designed many business buildings in the city, including "The Block' several of the principal flourmills, and a large number of private residences. His reputation extended beyond Victoria, the Hotel Metropole in Sydney having been built from his designs..The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)Tuesday 13 December 1921 - Page 7https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4613900`THE BLOCK’ TO BE SOLD.Reminder of the `Boom’ Period.One of the best known buildings of Melbourne ' The Block' Arcade which extends in L form from Collins street to Elizabeth street, is to be sold by auction to-morrow afternoon. The building is one of the reminders of the ' boom ' period of 1891-92. `The Block’ is erected on Crown allotments purchased at the first land sale held in Melbourne on November 1 1837 for £72. The purchasers of the three allotments were H. Batman who obtained the strip about 66ft wide from Collins street to Little Collins street for £18 and James Ross and J. Gardiner who paid £32 and £22 respectively for allotments bounded by Collins street, Elizabeth street and Little Collins street.The site on which the Collins street Block section now stands was originally occupied by the ironmongery firm of Briscoe and Co., who were succeeded by George and George drapers. A fire which occurred on September 13 1889 demolished the `Block.’ The Collins street section was rebuilt in 1891-92 and the Elizabeth street section in 1892-93. The construction of the present building under `boom’ conditions cost £350,000. Owing to the collapse of the `boom’ the rental expected was not obtainable until last year, when for the first time the income from the property slightly exceeded the expectations of 30 year's ago. The Block `reconstruction’ was designed by the late Mr. D. C. Askew, a Melbourne architect. Messrs. Robertson and Moffat, who had purchased the building from Messrs George and George, sold it to the City Property Co., which has held it up to the present time. The Elizabeth street frontage was originally occupied by another ironmongery firm, Messrs. Bleasby, Hutchinson, and Atkinson.The first tenants in the Collins street Block were Messrs. Allan and Co., who occupied the premises now leased to `Kodak.’ On the opposite corner where the Singer Sewing Machine Co. is now in occupation the first tenant was Miss Ilwraith ladies costumerie. Other original tenants were Ackers and Brook, milliners, and the Continental Cafe, for which a special floor was built upstairs, while the Ladies' Work association which took up offices in the dome of the arcade is still in occupation in the Elizabeth street section, tenants of 30 years are:— Mr. J. W. Bennet, tailor, and Messrs. McBean and Sons, jewellers. On the opposite corner where Cheshire and Champion are now in tenancy the first tenant was Miss King, a leading milliner of the early '90s. Her occupation was followed in turn by Messrs. Lascelles and Co., representing Rudge Whitworth, and Messrs. Gamblin and Co., one of the first butter export firms. One of the early tenants upstairs was the Savage Club which was later transferred to Queen's Walk. The City Property Co. was formed on August 25, 1886, and became the owner of Clarke's Buildings and Gothic Buildings, Bourke street, and the Lane Buildings, Flinders lane. All the original share- holders are dead. They were Messrs. Orlando Fenwick, Andrew Lyell, Robert Mailer, R. G. Benson (former secretary of the Metropolitan Deposit Bank) and J. McA. Howden, who was the first secretary of the company. The late Mr. W. C. Cameron, succeeded Mr. Howden as secretary, but on Mr. Cameron's death in 1914 Mr. Howden became secretary again until his death in June, when his son (Mr. Lyell Howden) succeeded him. The property to be offered for sale to-morrow by the auctioneers (W. F. Vale and Co., and Sydney Arnold Best and Co.) is being submitted m two sections. The first comprises the shops occupied by Kodak and Singers, 14 shops in the arcade, one shop in `Block Place’ basement, and four upper floors divided into showrooms and offices. The Elizabeth street section comprises shops now occupied by McBean's and Cheshire Champion's, 12 arcade shops, basement (Winter Garden Cafe), and 5 upper floors.
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1205535
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 103321 | 1 JPEG : 853 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |