Shops
8-12 Commercial Road PRAHRAN, Stonnington City
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Statement of Significance
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Shops - Physical Description 1
The houses and former shop at 8-12 Commercial Road are located on a busy and noisy thoroughfare in Prahran which accomodates both buses and trams. The streetscape of Commercial Road is, as the name might suggest, a patchwork of commercial developments, residential houses and institutions. This particular group of buildings sits opposite a multi storey hotel.
The group comprises three two-storey attached terraces, two of which present as houses to the street while the third, at the corner, is a shop. The inscription Commercial Buildings 1886 is centred over the party wall which divides number 10 from number 8. The houses at 8-10 Commercial Road are finely detailed Italianate terraces with arcaded masonry loggias at both levels. The reveal of these arches features a strong dog-tooth pattern, and the arches themselves rest on cast iron posts. The parapet sits above the entablature appears to be in poor conditions and has several balusters missing. A similar Italianate balustrade also acts as the rail to the second storey balcony.
The main face of the pair of houses at 8-10 Commercial Road retains an unpainted cement finish, although the walls within the verandah at no.10 have been painted cream. As is typical of many Victorian terrace houses, small gardens front the houses at 8 and 10, with a cast iron fence to the street.
The shop at 12 Commercial Road is located on the corner of Commercial Road and Alfred Street, and at present houses a milk bar. The building has been used in a commercial capacity since 1887[1]. The shop has been altered to a substantial extent on the ground floor, to the extent of the painted external walls, the windows and dorrs, the tile area around the shopfront, the modern canopies to the windows, and the fact that a corner verandah which once graced the building has been demolished.[2] The east facade is plain in its treatment, with the only ornament the cast iron railings to the first floor balconettes. The building permit records of the (former) Prahran Council suggest that no major alterations have been made to the group.[3]
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References
[1] Prahran Rate Book 1887, Nos. 6828-6830.
[2] MMBW house cover, 1900.
[3] Prahran Council Building Permits.
Shops - Local Historical Themes
7.1 Serving local communities
8.2 Middle-class suburbs and the suburban ideal.
Heritage Study and Grading
Stonnington - City of Stonnington Heritage Overlay Report (Stages 1-5) 1998
Author: Bryce Raworth P/L
Year: 1998
Grading: A2Stonnington - Conservation Review City of Prahran Volume 4: A2 Buildings
Author: Context Pty Ltd
Year: 1993
Grading: A2
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MAJELLAVictorian Heritage Register H0783
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PRAHRAN TOWN HALLVictorian Heritage Register H0203
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FORMER POLICE STATION AND COURT HOUSEVictorian Heritage Register H0542
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