John Cooper & Son, 287-289 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
John Cooper & Son, 287-289 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 103200
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.
Use restrictions:
UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
General notes:
ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:DATE: 1893;ASSOCIATIONS: Cooper & Sons;DESIGNER: Henderson, Henry J.Melbourne Planning Scheme Amendment C271Grading: SignificantDate(s): c1984 (sic)Survey Date: April 2016Statement of SignificanceWhat is Significant?The premises at 287-9 Elizabeth Street was constructed in c. 1894 and occupied by ironmongers John Cooper & Sons until the 1930s. The ironmongery of John Cooper & Sons was established in Elizabeth Street from as early as 1880, with Cooper possibly having previously traded in a partnership on Bourke Street which dissolved in 1879. In 1889 John Cooper was killed in a road accident, but the firm continued under his name. His estate papers noted that as well as the premises in Elizabeth Street, he was in occupation of a stable and shed in Guildford Street and a building in a lane off Little Lonsdale Street, the 1850s warehouse in Heape Court (rear 361-365 Little Lonsdale Street, also in the subject precinct). By the mid-1890s, the company listing in the Sands & McDougall Directory described the business as ‘iron, steel, timber and cement merchants [and] general ironmongers, wholesale and retail.’ The ironmongery continued to operate through the early decades of the twentieth century, and were known for their Bunyip Forest Devil plough. In the mid-1880s, Cooper & Co. were listed in the rate books as being in occupation of a brick warehouse and shop, valued at a NAV £300 at the subject site, then known as 191 Elizabeth Street. In 1893, it was reported that a fire had broken out in the single-storey brick offices and store, causing considerable damage. The rate books are somewhat unclear about the construction of the existing building, but it is likely to have been soon after this fire. In 1894, the year after the fire, the property was valued in the rate books at a NAV of £400, an increase from £300 the previous year. In 1900, the building is described as a brick shop of two flats (floors). In 1915, the property was again described, as a brick shop and store, of two floors, with a NAV of £325. John Cooper & Sons grew to have agents in Sydney and Brisbane, and an engineering works in Alexandria. The company operated in New South Wales into the 1970s. The subject building is a comparatively early example of the revival of Baroque architectural expression. This style emerged in the last decades of the nineteenth century and reached an early high water mark locally in the design of the former Teachers’ College building, University of Melbourne (Public Works Department, under JH Marsden, 1888). However, the recession of the 1890s suppressed further experiments in the mode. The style would re-emerge after 1900 as the fully-formed Edwardian Baroque of the Melbourne City Baths (J Clark with EJ Clark, 1903-4) and the Flinders Street Station (JW Fawcett & HPC Ashworth, 1901-11). The subject building, constructed in c. 1894 as a two-storey ironmonger’s shop with storerooms at the upper level, was designed by, little-known architect, Henry J Henderson. The verandah and shopfronts at ground floor level have been substantially altered and currently retain little original fabric; however, at its upper levels the building is more intact to its late Boom-period style. As constructed, the building adopted an understated Baroque expression, incorporating panels of face brick offset against, occasionally florid, architectural detailing realised in render. The building has been overpainted which limits the extent to which the original play of materials remains legible. Nonetheless, the upper façade continues to generate architectural interest through a layering of architectural detail. Four pilasters sit proud of the façade rising and flaring to terminate at a string course below the parapet. These divide the upper facade into three distinct bays. The outer (northern and southern bays) are capped by complex floriated panels at the parapet. The central section rises to a massive par enroulement pediment flanked by complex scrolls and incorporating a semicircular ornamental ventilator to the attic space. Window joinery at first floor level has been altered although the upper highlight windows of the original arrangement appear to survive. An interwar addiHow is it Significant?The building at 287-9 Elizabeth Street, constructed in c. 1894s for ironmongers John Cooper & Sons, is of local aesthetic/architectural significance.Why is it Significant?The building is of aesthetic/architectural significance. While the ground floor and verandah have been altered, the façade to Elizabeth Street is more intact to its upper levels. It is here that the building displays its understated Baroque expression, representing an early example of the mode which is notable for its association with a commercial rather than an institutional use. Significantly the facade incorporates a rich collection of architectural details, some quite florid in their expression, and finished at the top by a massive pediment.,GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 84 Lawrie Wilson & Associates, 1977. Historic Buildings Preservation Council Report on CBD Block No 6 Dec 1977, page 27;.LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX75184 Henderson, Henry J; Cooper & Sons Melbourne VIC Warehouses Shackelford, F H - Toorak Rd Toorak 1893 04 17 5809, MCC registration no 5809 [Burchett Index]. Fee 3.3.0 store-Elizabeth.NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954)Saturday 11 February 1905 - Page 26John Cooper and Sons have had inquiries from South America for their wrought steel plough shares. We are informed that important improvements have been made in these shares this season. To guard the public against an inferior article, these shares are branded "Cooper's," and it is claimed that every share branded in this manner is guaranteed unbreakable under ordinary conditions. There is, we are also informed, an increasing demand for home and foreign requirements..Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954)Wednesday 22 April 1953 - Page 51Engine for Push Bike Milledge Bros. Ltd.. 287 Elizabeth St., Melbourne..DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1893287 Cooper, John, & Sons, ironmongers1915287-2S9 Cooper, John, & Sons. Coachbldr,irnmgrs1925287-289 Milledge Bros, Pty Ltd, fur imptrs291-293 Kiernan, E. L., & Co, furn wrehse
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 103200 | 1 JPEG : 264 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |