SHOPS & RESIDENCES
599-603 MT ALEXANDER ROAD, MOONEE PONDS, MOONEE VALLEY CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
The building at 599-603 Mt Alexander Road, constructed in 1887, is significant. It comprises a row of three two-storey late-Victorian rendered brick shops. The upper portion of the facade (first floor) is designed in a Classical Revival style, and is divided into three bays by rendered Corinthian pilasters. Above a frieze and projecting cornice, is a parapet. The two end bays of the parapet have a circular motif, and the centre bay has a triangular pediment surmounted with a pressed cement urn. The date shown in the cement rendered lettering on the parapet is AD 1887. In each bay of the first floor facade are timber frame double-hung sash windows, which are composed in a tripartite arrangement. The central window is more elaborate, and uses a Serliana composition. Other original or early detailing include original/early moulded panels above the shopfronts, the rustication of the walls adjacent to the shopfronts of the northern shop at No.603 and the shopfront itself. The integrity of the upper facade is integral to the significance of the place.
Non-original alterations and additions to the building are not significant.
How is it significant?
The shops and residences at 599-603 Mt Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds are of local historic and architectural significance to the City of Moonee Valley.
Why is it significant?
It is historically and architecturally significant as a typical example of a speculative commercial development associated with the late nineteenth century land boom in Moonee Ponds. While Mt Alexander Road developed as a retail area prior to Puckle Street much of the early development has been lost and the significance of this place is enhanced by its rarity value as one of the few relatively intact nineteenth century shop rows to survive. Architecturally, it is notable for the intact detailing to the first floor facade. (Criteria A, B & D)
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SHOPS & RESIDENCES - Physical Description 1
The building at 599-603 Mt Alexander Road, constructed in 1887, comprises a row of three two-storey late-Victorian rendered brick shops on the west side of Mount Alexander Road, southeast of the Moonee Ponds Junction.
The upper portion of the facade (first floor) is designed in a Classical Revival style, and is divided into three bays by rendered Corinthian pilasters. Above a frieze and projecting cornice, is a parapet. The two end bays of the parapet have a circular motif, and the centre bay has a triangular pediment surmounted with a pressed cement urn. The date shown in the cement rendered lettering on the parapet is AD 1887. In each bay of the first floor facade are timber frame double-hung sash windows, which are composed in a tripartite arrangement. The central window is more elaborate, and uses a Serliana composition.
The lower portion of the facade retains some original/early moulded panels above the shopfronts. There are remnants of the corrugated iron roof of a verandah visible on the wall above the northern most shopfront. However, the remainder of the shopfronts are of recent origin, and mostly detract from the Classical detailing of the upper level. However, the rustication of the walls adjacent to the shopfronts of the northern shop at No.603 do complement the Classical detailing of the upper level and the shopfront appears to be early or perhaps original.
The building is in good condition and has a moderate degree of external integrity overall. The shopfronts to Nos. 599-601 have been altered and the original verandah across the whole frontage has been removed. An advertising awning along the upper portion of the north elevation is an intrusive element on this building. The rear boundary of the subject site extends along the east side of Ascot Vale Road. The rear of the building, as seen from Ascot Vale Road, is utilitarian in character and of little appreciable heritage value. A concrete surfaced car park extends from the rear of the building to the Ascot Vale Road site boundary.
The buildings in the environs of the subject site in Mount Alexander Road are eclectic in scale, period and style. The building on the subject site is one of three Victorian buildings on the west side of Mount Alexander Road between the junction and an unnamed lane (to its south). The remainder of the buildings on this side of Mount Alexander Road are Post-war Modernist buildings of no heritage significance, and little appreciable architectural value. Adjacent to the subject site, to its north, is a garden centre that is a former petrol station, which is an incongruous element in this part of the street in terms of its built form. The opposite side of Mount Alexander Road, southeast of Moonee Ponds Junction retains a little more Pre World War II character, albeit its scale and rhythm has been disrupted by unsympathetic Modernist development.Heritage Study and Grading
Moonee Valley - Moonee Ponds Activity Centre Heritage Study (2011)
Author: David Helms Heritage Planning & Management
Year: 2011
Grading: Local
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