Terrace Row
57-71 Napier Street ESSENDON, MOONEE VALLEY CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
57-71 Napier Street, Essendon, a two-storey Italianate terrace row of eight houses built by 1890, is significant.
Significant fabric includes the:
original building form of each terrace and of the terrace row formation as a whole, the original roof forms including original chimneys;
original chimneys, basalt plinths, dividing walls and paired rear wings, original pattern of fenestration;
parapets and their ornamentation, verandahs and verandah detailing (including original columns, balustrading, friezes and brackets); and
original window and door joinery, tessellated verandah floor tiling, sections of face brickwork (nos 57, 59, 61, 69 and 71).
The fences and rear extensions are not significant.
How is it significant?
57-71 Napier Street, Essendon, is of local architectural (representative) significance to the City of Moonee Valley.
Why is it significant?
57-71 Napier Street, Essendon, constructed in 1890, is significant as an Italianate terrace. The Italianate style is well represented in the City of Moonee Valley, however most examples are individual houses, with terraces being a less common typology. Two-storey terraces such as 57-71 Napier Street are relatively uncommon, but several other examples are represented on the Heritage Overlay, including 2-8 Bayview Street, c1890 (HO18); 18-20 Davies Street, Moonee Ponds, c1890 (HO174); and Sandford Terrace at 15-23 Saint James Street, Essendon, 1886-1888 (HO213). 57-71 Napier Street demonstrate key elements of the Italianate style as applied to a terrace typology, including the narrow allotment width of each house, small front setbacks and repetitive forms.
57-71 Napier Street, Essendon, has a moderately high integrity, with some superficial changes to wall surfaces, outbuildings and front fences being amongst the most evident changes. The place retains the original building form of each of the eight conjoined terraces, comprising the front terrace rooms, party walls and rear wings arranged in pairs. The integrity of the place as a whole is enhanced by the relatively high level of intactness of these main elements, which also include details such the original chimneys, elaborate parapet ornamentation, window joinery, verandah detail and several unpainted facades of dichromatic brick. The two-storey verandahs, featuring cast iron balustrades and friezes, are signature elements of the Italianate style and are evident on each of the houses. The use of both plain brick and decorative render work applied to the parapets, chimneys, party walls and fenestration are highly representative of the Italianate style.
The main elements of the two-storey terrace house form and the Italianate style are well represented in 57-71 Napier Street, Essendon, at a level of integrity that is consistent with other examples on the Heritage Overlay. (Criterion D)
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Terrace Row - Physical Description 1
57-71 Napier Street, Essendon, is a two-storey terraced row of eight Victorian-era dwellings erected in an Italianate style. Its corner location is sited on the western side of Napier Street, a busy north-south thoroughfare, south west of its intersection with Raleigh Street. Its gentle southerly aspect creates a prominent landmark setting on approach from the south. Each dwelling has a modest setback to its front (east) property boundary, while a bluestone laneway delineates the rear (west).
Each residence comprises two distinct building forms: a principal building with a frontage to Napier Street, with a hipped roof of corrugated iron, truncated and gabled to the front (east) facade and concealed with a high, ornamental parapet; and a rear adjoining wing with a skillion roof, its central ridge forming a gabled roof-form with the neighbouring structure. The parapets to each building front have a simple frieze and moulded cornice supporting a raised, segmental pediment, housing a stylised crimped shell and swag. Two squat pilasters and a balustrade of interlocked circles sit either side, and a small, scrolled finial rests above the pediment. A precast urn sits atop each parapet coping. The parapet to number 59 is missing the central part of its swag, whilst that of number 61 is missing its swag altogether. One urn in its entirety remains atop the northern coping of number 71, while the rest remain either without finials or have been lost completely. The cement rendered parapet to number 71 probably retains its original finish of a light wash now largely giving the appearance of being unpainted. Each residence has a cement rendered chimney with Italianate-style cornice at the front end the building, save for number 65, while a utilitarian red brick stepped chimney servicing each pair of dwellings remains at the rear, rising from the ridging of the pair of rear adjoining buildings.
The principal facade to each dwelling is generally arranged uniformly and fenestration is largely intact. Numbers 57, 59, 61, 69 and 71 retain original facades of polychrome brickwork with contrasting detailing to the window and door openings, while the rest have been overpainted. Number 57 has had an altered window opening infilled with clinker brick at the first floor, and number 61 appears to have had its brickwork recently repointed. Each residence has a two-level cast-iron verandah with elaborate cast-iron balustrade, frieze and brackets, and a skillion verandah roof; precast console brackets at each verandah beam, to the end of each party wall; a timber front door with rectangular fanlight and large window to the ground level, and; two large windows at the first level. At ground level, most verandahs have their original basalt plinth, and some retain original tessellated tiling. While most dwellings retain their (presumably original) four-panel timber front doors, many have had later screen doors added; only numbers 59, 65 and 71 retain their original front door without screen. Most residences retain an original (or restored) large double-hung sash window with narrow double-hung sashes either side at the ground level, save for numbers 57 and 67. Leaded glazing in a rose pattern has been incorporated to the narrow sashes and fanlight to number 59. Windows to the ground floors of numbers 59, 61 and 69 retain original masonry sills. At the first floor, all dwellings except number 57 retain an original pattern of fenestration, though the frames to those of number 67 and 69 have been replaced, and those of number 71 have been replaced with six-pane double timber French doors. Fenestration at both levels of the facade to number 57 has been substantially altered: at ground level, the original window treatment has been replaced with a double aluminium-framed window with one double-hung sash, and a shorter, but wider window opening has been created at the first floor to allow for an aluminium-framed sliding window.
Fences among the dwellings are recent and comprise high, solid brick fences, cast-iron palisades, or a combination of the two. The fence to number 59, while later, is the most sympathetic to the era of the property; a double cast-iron palisade fence resting on a stone plinth, with ornate cast-iron gate posts featuring a lion's mask and surmounted by urns. Numbers 57, 59, 63 and 67 retain original gate openings and path layouts, leading directly to the principal entry. Each dwelling has a shallow setback allowing for a modest front garden, most of which have been recently landscaped with low hedges and shrubs. At the rear laneway a multiplicity of utilitarian buildings is visible and include some original annexes to the rear of each residence, as well as later sheds and garages.
57-71 Napier Street, Essendon, is of relatively high integrity with very few changes visible to original or early elements of the place. The building retains the original building form of each of these eight conjoined terraces (generally comprising the front terrace rooms, dividing walls, and paired rear wings), the original roof forms, parapets, verandahs, fenestration pattern, and some rear outbuildings (all elements noted in detail in the Description above).
The integrity of the building is enhanced by the relatively high level of intactness of these main elements, which include details such the original chimneys, elaborate parapet ornamentation, original window joinery, original verandah detailing (including columns, balustrading, friezes and brackets), original window joinery to rear wings, and remaining sections of original face brickwork (all elements noted in detail in the Description above).
The integrity of the building is slightly diminished by the introduction of some new window and door joinery and other details appertaining to the verandah decoration and loss of decorative elements to the parapet (all elements noted in detail in the Description above) although sufficient early details remain to appreciate the original design intent across the terrace as a whole. The integrity of the place is slightly diminished by the lack of uniformity of front fences and lack of original fabric. Despite the mixed nature of the work to each individual residence, the integrity of the place as a whole terrace is enhanced by the relative lack of bulky or intrusive extensions when viewed from the rear.Heritage Study and Grading
Moonee Valley - Moonee Valley 2017 Heritage Study
Author: Context
Year: 2019
Grading:
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ESSENDON RAILWAY STATION COMPLEXVictorian Heritage Register H1562
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LOWTHER HALL ANGLICAN GRAMMAR SCHOOLVictorian Heritage Register H0146
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RESIDENCEVictorian Heritage Register H1160
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"1890"Yarra City
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"AMF Officers" ShedMoorabool Shire
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"AQUA PROFONDA" SIGN, FITZROY POOLVictorian Heritage Register H1687
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"1890"Yarra City
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'BRAESIDE'Boroondara City
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'ELAINE'Boroondara City
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