Rockman's Showrooms, 188 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Rockman's Showrooms, 188 Bourke Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 101206
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
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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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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________Style: Jazz ModernePeriod: Inter-WarBuilt: 1937-8ASSOCIATIONS: Kitz, E V and D W;DESIGNER: Tomkins, H W & F B;BUILDER: Reinforced Concrete & Monier Pipe Construction CompanyNotable features: Relates to 190 Bourke Street..CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONSIndexhttps://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/60672/images/44777_349571-004441937 April 28 18344 ₤4000 Erection of buildingNov 25 18945 ₤400 erection of shopfront-Kitz, E V and D W of 13 Finch St, Malvern; TS Gill & Son Ltd of South Yarra; finished Feb 1938; Tomkins, H W & F B1961, 1979 new shopfronts etc.NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)Tuesday 14 December 1937 - Page 18SALESWOMENTWENTY,Experienced.For Our New Bourke StreetShow roomsApply PersonallyROCKMAN'S SHOWROOMS PTY LTD ,Mason's Lane, Rear Cann'.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWhttps://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.com-participate.files/5015/9494/2257/PROPERTY_101206_188_BOURKE_ST.pdfRECOMMENDATIONSRecommended for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Melbourne PlanningScheme as an Individual Heritage Place.Extent of overlay: Refer to map.SUMMARY188 Bourke Street is a three-storey interwar commercial building designed in 1937 in the Art Deco/Jazz Moderne style by Melbourne architects H W & F B Tompkins. It was occupied by clothes retailer Rockman’s Showrooms Pty Ltd from 1937 to the 1960s. Frist established in 1931 in Melbourne, the firm operated a chain of stores under the name and ‘Best for less’ style of ‘Rockmans’ across Australia in the ensuing years..SITE HISTORYThe site at 188 Bourke Street is part of Crown Allotment 8, Block 22, of the City of Melbourne, initially purchased by J H Phelps in September 1837 (DCLS c1839). By 1888, the land was developed with a two-storey shop, occupied by Mason Bros, hatters (Mahlstedt Map Section 1, no 22, 1888). Between c1910 and 1924, the building housed restaurants, Hoffmann’s Grill Room, and later Mrs Kitz’s tearooms (S&Mc 1924; Herald 23 August 1937:11; Mahlstedt Map Section 1, no 7, 1910). The Kitz family still owned the building between the mid-1920s and 1936, during chich time Sharpe Bros occupied the premises (S&Mc 1925-1938; RB 1936). Sharp Bros was a retail drapery originally established in Gippsland.In August 1937, the building at 188 Bourke Street, which the Herald described as an ‘old city landmark’ was demolished to make way for a modern three-storey concrete building. The site had one of the smallest frontages in Bourke Street (Herald 23 August 1937:11). The original building plans for 188 Bourke Street prepared by architects H W & F B Tompkins for the owners E B and D W Kitz show the Art Deco-style store with signage reading ‘Sharpes’ above the ground-floor shopfront (see Figure 1) (PROV VPRS 11201/P1, unit 219). It is possible that the new three-level shop at 188 Bourke Street was originally intended to be tenanted by Sharpe Bros, who eventually moved to a nearby location at 202-204 Bourke Street (also assessed as part of this study). Following the demolition of part of the former building in 1937, the construction of the new building was delayed for several months due to a legal negotiation for demolition of a 70-year-old party wall that existed at the rear of the site. The wall formed part of one of the oldest houses in the city, which was later extended southward with a two-storey shop fronting Bourke Street. The land occupied by the old party wall was purchased inch by inch at a higher price, in order to fully demolish all of the old structure at 188 Bourke Street. The final site occupied a slightly larger frontage of about 16 feet 6 inches (Herald 6 October 1937:22). The architects H W & F B Tompkins provided an amended plan to implement the changes, and adjusted the signage and shopfront designs to suit the newly-designated tenant, Rockman’s Showrooms Pty Ltd, owned by frock sellers Phillip and Norman Rockman, who utilised the building as a retail outlet (see Figure 2).Figure 1. H W & F B Tompkins’ drawing for the subject building at 188 Bourke Street, Melbourne, which was to be occupied by Sharpe Bros. (Source: PROV VPRS 11201/P1/382)Figure 2. Newspaper illustration showing the amended façade design for Rockman’s Showrooms Pty Ltd. (Source: Herald 6 October 1937:22)The Rockman’s Showrooms Pty Ltd chain of stores was founded by brothers Philip and Norman Rockman who came to Australia from Poland in 1924. Phillip initially made his living by hawking drapery as a travelling salesman. The first Rockman brothers’ shop was opened in Collins Street in 1930, with a chain of stores opened across Australia in ensuing years. The company Rockman’s Showrooms Pty Ltd was established in 1931 (Daily Commercial and Shipping List, NSW 11 July 1931:4). Carrying out the business under the style of ‘Rockmans’, the firm sold serviceable, inexpensive dresses, adopting the motto, ‘Best for Less’, and the store established an extensive mail order system and catalogue. In 1933, the firm had two outlets at 343 Bourke Street and 139-141 Swanston Street. Rockman’s Showrooms Pty Ltd leased the building at 188 Bourke Street in 1937 for use as a retail outlet. Rockman’s opened its 58th store in Yallourn in 1953, and by that year, had diversified into home wares. Rockman’s continues to operate today (George and Spaull 2016; Age, 27 July 1934:13). Norman Rockman’s son, Irvin Rockman, was Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne in the period 1977-79.The new 1937 brick shop and warehouse building at 188 Bourke Street leased to Rockman’s Showrooms comprised three floors and a basement with an electric lift. The verticality of the building was emphasised with strips of windows to the façade. Other notable design features involved a front window display, which was 20 feet in depth, with plate glass shelving, and an original three-toned terrazzo-paved entrance from Bourke Street (Herald 6 October 1937:22). 1960; RB 1965 & 1970). The property remained in the ownership of the Kitz family until c1970 (RB 1965 &1970).The Mahlstedt Fire Survey plan published in 1948 and amended in the early 1970s shows the threestorey shop at 188 Bourke Street occupied by ‘Magnin Fashions’ (see Figure 3) (Mahlstedt Map Section 1, no 7, 1948).Between 1938 and the early 1960s, the building was occupied by Rockman’s Showrooms Pty Ltd, and subsequently tenanted by another dress salon, Magnin Pty Ltd, until the early 1970s (S&Mc 1960; RB 1965 & 1970). The property remained in the ownership of the Kitz family until c1970 (RB 1965 &1970).The Mahlstedt Fire Survey plan published in 1948 and amended in the early 1970s shows the three-story shop at 188 Bourke Street occupied by ‘Magnin Fashions’ (see Figure 3) (Mahlstedt Map Section 1, no 7, 1948).Figure 3. Detail of the 1948 (amended post-1960s) Mahlstedt plan showing the subject building at 188 Bourke Street. (Source: Mahlstedt Map Section 1, no 7, 1948) In 1976, the ground floor of 188 Bourke Street was altered at a cost of $4,500, and again in 1978 at a cost of $6,500 (MBAI). Other known substantial building works included an upgrade carried out in 1986; enclosure of stairs and the installation of a new shopfront in 1987; and the installation of a new shopfront and internal partitions in 1988 (MBAI).The property today contains a shop and a food and drink outlet (CoMMaps)..H W & F B Tompkins, architectsThe Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture contains the following entry for architects H W and F BTompkins:H. W. & F.B. TOMPKINS, architects were established in 1898 when the brothers won a design competition for the Commercial Travellers Association CTA Clubhouse, 190 Flinders Street, Melbourne. Henry Harry William (1865-1959) and Frank Beauchamp Tompkins (c1867-1952) were born in England and educated in South Africa. They migrated to Australia with their parents in 1886. Harry became an assistant architect to Richard Speight Jnr and Frank worked with a number of architects including Evander McIver and Nahum Barnet. By the mid-1890s Harry had entered a partnership, forming Speight & Tompkins of 493 Collins Street, Melbourne. He left the partnership in 1896 to take up a position in the Western Australia Public Works Department, but was retrenched in 1898 and returned to Melbourne and formed the partnership of H.W. & F.B. Tompkins (Beeston 2012:707-708).The competition win established the firm and by the early 20th century, H.W. & F. B. Tompkins was a leading commercial firm. Their commercial work up to WWII reflects the three influences popular at the time: the Romanesque style popularised by such architects as H.H. Richardson in the United States during the late 19th century; the Baroque Revival of the early 20th century, popular in Chicago and San Francisco after 1908; and the Moderne or interwar functionalist style of the 1930s. Both Harry and Frank travelled to the United States and Europe, studying the latest trends in design and construction technology. They were the first architects in Melbourne to implement modern methods of steel frame construction and reinforced concrete in the Centre Way, Collins Street 1911 and the new Commercial Travellers' Association Clubhouse and Commerce House, 318- 324 Flinders Street (1912). In 1913, the firm's association with Sidney Myer began with a warehouse building in Bourke Street, the first of many Myer commissions (Beeston 2012:707-708).Harry Tompkins and Sidney Myer travelled in the United States visiting department stores, including the Emporium in San Francisco, which is reputedly the influence for the Myer Emporium in Bourke Street, Melbourne (Beeston 2012:707-708). Harry Tompkins, the public face of the firm, was a prominent member of the RVIA; he was a council member (1905-), vice-president (1913) and president (1914-16). Harry was also president of the Federal Council of the AlA (1918-19) and mayor of Kew, the suburb in which he lived, for the same period (Beeston 2012:707-708). The firm is one of the longest surviving in Victoria. In the 1950s it became Tompkins & Shaw when P.M. Shaw entered the partnership and then Tompkins, Shaw & Evans when Stan Evans joined. In 2003 it was acquired by Michael Davies Associates, forming a new firm, Tompkins MDA Group (Beeston 2012:707-708)..REFERENCESBeeston, Janet 2012, ‘H W and F B Tomkins’ in Goad, Philip & Willis, Julie (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.City of Melbourne Maps (CoMMaps) 2017, http://maps.melbourne.vic.gov.au/, accessed 7 June 2018.City of Melbourne Municipal Rate Books (RB), as cited.Context Pty Ltd 2012, ‘Thematic History: A History of the City of Melbourne’s Urban Environment’, prepared for the City of Melbourne.Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Victoria (DCLS) c1839, ‘Names of purchasers and amounts paid for allotments at first land sales held in Melbourne in 1837, 1838 and 1839’, State Library ofVictoria (SLV): Land subdivisions of Melbourne and suburbs, 1837-1876 Map key, accessed online 13 December 2018.Dingle, Tony 2008, ‘Manufacturing’ in eMelbourne, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies,The University of Melbourne, http://www.emelbourne.net.au, accessed 19 December 2018.George, Julie and Spaull, Roger 2016, ‘From the Newspapers’ in Virtual Yallourn,http://www.virtualyallourn.com/node/30543, accessed 19 December 2018.Herald, as cited.May, Andrew 2008, ‘Bourke Street’ in eMelbourne, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies,The University of Melbourne, http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00459b.htm, accessedFebruary 2020.Mahlstedt and Gee 1888, Standard plans of the city of Melbourne, Mahlstedt and Gee, Melbourne.Mahlstedt, G 1910, City of Melbourne detail fire survey, Mahlstedt, Melbourne.Mahlstedt's Pty Ltd 1925, City of Melbourne detail fire survey. Section 1, Mahlstedt Pty Ltd,Melbourne.Mahlstedt's Pty Ltd 1948, City of Melbourne detail fire survey. Section 1, Mahlstedt Pty Ltd,Melbourne.Marsden, Susan 2000, Urban Heritage: the rise and postwar development of Australia’s capital citycentres, Australian Council of National Trusts and Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra.Melbourne Building Application Index (MBAI), retrieved from Ancestry.com 2015, Victoria, Australia,Selected Trial Brief and Correspondence Registers and Other Images, 1837-1993 [database on-line],http://ancestry.com.au, accessed online March-April 2018.Public Record Office Victoria (PROV), City of Melbourne building plans and permits (1916-1960),VPRS 11200, 1120Sands and McDougall, Melbourne and Suburban Directories (S&Mc), as cited.Young and Spearritt 2008, ‘Department Stores’ in eMelbourne, School of Historical and PhilosophicalStudies, The University of Melbourne, http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00459b.htm, accessed16 June 2018..STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEWhat is significant?The former Rockman’s Showroom at 188 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, a three-storey retail building constructed in 1937 is significant.Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):• Original building form and scale;• Original symmetrical façade geometry and fenestration, including vertical glazed panels, projecting mullions and rooftop fins and articulated parapet; and• Original steel windows at the second-floor level.The awning and alterations at the street-level shopfront and replacement aluminium frame windows at the first level are not significant.How it is significant?188 Bourke Street, Melbourne, is of local historical and representative significance to the City of Melbourne.Why it is significant?The former Rockman’s Showrooms Pty Ltd building at 188 Bourke Street is historically significant for the evidence it provides of an important phase in Melbourne’s retail history; the rise in popularity of the chain store retailers from the 1920s in the central city. To accommodate growing demand for retail stores in central Melbourne, by the 1930s, former businesses in the block east of Bourke Street mall were quickly replaced with clothing retailers and chain stores. Designed in 1937 by architects H W & F B Tompkins and occupied by frock sellers Rockman’s Showrooms, who established a chain of fashion stores across regional Victoria and New South Wales, it is representative of the wave of smaller-scale commercial development in central Melbourne during the later interwar period that replaced the low scale masonry buildings dating from the late 19th and early 20th century. (Criteria A and D)188 Bourke Street is architecturally significant as a finely detailed, modestly-scaled example of a Jazz Moderne commercial building in central Melbourne. Jazz Moderne was an extremely popular style in the later interwar period. Such buildings utilised the engineering benefits of steel and concrete frame structures to maximise window areas and to provide flexibility for external articulation and decoration, and the dynamic and streamlined aesthetic of Art Deco detailing. The building is also notable as a work of the eminent firm of Melbourne architects H W & F B Tompkins, who designed a number of other Melbourne buildings in the Jazz Moderne style during the same period. (Criterion D)Primary sourceHoddle Grid Heritage Review (Context & GJM Heritage, 2020).DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1942188 Rockman's Showrooms Pty Ltd. frocks
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1189483
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 101206 | 1 JPEG : 259 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |