OFFICE
202 LITTLE LONSDALE STREET MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
The office at 202 Little Lonsdale Street was constructed in two stages: the two storey brick store in 1889 and the facade in 1905. The 1889 work was undertaken for Walter Coop who owned and operated the adjacent shot tower. The facade was designed by architect J. Edmund Burke and built by A. Pontin. The building was constructed in red-brick with cement dressings to the facade. The most striking feature of the facade is the central bay window of art nouveau form.
How is it significant?
The office at 202 Little Lonsdale Street is of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The office at 202 Little Lonsdale Street is of architectural significance because of its art- nouveau features, which place it in an important period of architectural development in Australia when a distinctive Australian style of architecture was being fashioned by architects such as John Sulman, Nahum Barnett and Robert Haddon. The new style featured a move away from the stuccoed Renaissance Revival towards the use of red brick and render, passing through a Queen Anne phase with associated art-nouveau decoration, eventually adopting a strong, American Romanesque-influenced style featuring large openings. This building clearly reflects the new approach, displaying little interest in traditional decorative details and presenting a dynamically-modelled facade to the street.
The office at 202 Little Lonsdale Street is of historical significance as a reminder of the industrial and warehousing character of this area in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Little Lonsdale Street always had a reputation as a less respectable, vice-ridden part of the city. This part of the street was for a long time occupied by small-scale industrial establishments and warehouses, as well as opium dens and brothels in the 19th century. The street has been drastically changed in recent decades, especially since the construction of Melbourne Central, and buildings such as No. 202 are important remnants of the original character. The association with Walter Coop, who, as the owner of the adjacent Shot Factory, was a prominent Melbourne industrialist, is also important.
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OFFICE - History
Contextual History:History of Place:
During the 1890s Australia was constantly searching for a clear identity in a wide variety of endeavours, no less its own form of government. The 1890s were a turbulent political period, leading to the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901.
Architectural journals of the day carried extensive articles on the development of an Australian style of architecture. Such eminent figures as John Sulman, E. Wilson Dobbs, Nahum Barnet and Robert Haddon were at the forefront of these discussions.
The resulting architecture took on an appearance that rejected the previously dominant Renaissance revival mode and moved into more exotic styles, particularly the American Romanesque. The influence of the old country remained, however, but in changed forms as architects adopted the mode of Norman Shaw and his contemporaries.
202 Little Lonsdale Street clearly indicates the new approach. It is perhaps more related to the work of Norman Shaw, in a reduced way.
Associated People:
OFFICE - Permit Exemptions
General Exemptions:General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions. Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.
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