Glenferrie Road Commercial Precinct
633-763 & 628-808 Glenferrie Road and 2A Bowen Street and 319-369 & 324-358 Burwood Road and 37-39 Lynch Street HAWTHORN, BOROONDARA CITY
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Statement of Significance
HO491 Glenferrie Road Commercial Precinct
What is significant?
The Glenferrie Road commercial precinct comprises both sides of Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn from 633-763 and from 628 - 808 and 2A Bowen Street Both sides of Burwood Road around the intersection with Glenferrie Road (319 - 369 and 324 - 358), including the Town Hall at 358 and the Glenferrie Hotel at 324-326 are included in the precinct. There are two late Victorian/Federation houses at 37-39 Lynch Street. This encompasses the core of Glenferrie Road's nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings, the railway and associated buildings, civic buildings, banks and the best examples of rows of two storey shops.
How is it significant?
Glenferrie Road is of local historic, aesthetic and social significance to the City of Boroondara.
Why is it significant?
Glenferrie Road commercial precinct is of historic significance as the centre of Hawthorn since the establishment of the Town Hall in 1861. It demonstrates the influence firstly of the railway (1882) in encouraging the development of commercial centres around railway stations, and secondly of the tramway (1913) in supporting the growth of the commercial area northwards. The precinct thus displays significant heritage elements associated with the development of Hawthorn in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, especially the land boom era following on the expansion of the railway and the Federation era expansion of the public transport system through the tramways. The construction of The Don department store indicates the importance of Glenferrie Road as a regional shopping centre. Glenferrie Road is significant as the major shopping centre in Hawthorn. (RNE Criteria A.4, D.2)
Glenferrie Road commercial precinct is of aesthetic significance as a commercial, retail, civic, services and residential precinct containing examples of buildings by a number of prominent architects including a number of buildings from 1889 by architect John Beswicke and from 1889 - 1891 by Augustus Fritsch. The key buildings are set in a context of Victorian, Edwardian and Inter-war buildings that contribute to the architectural character of the precinct. (RNE Criterion E.1)
Notable buildings of architectural merit include commercial buildings such as the NAB (1917) and ANZ (c1920) banks at 637 and 687 Glenferrie Road, the former Melbourne Savings Bank (c1900) at 365 Burwood Road and the prominent former CBA bank of 1889 on the corner of Burwood Road. There are also a number of fine architect-designed retail buildings including the former Don department store of 1910, which is the work of Ward and Carleton.
Glenferrie Road commercial precinct is significant for public buildings including the Hawthorn Town Hall (designed by Leonard Terry in 1861, with extensions by John Beswicke, 1889). Other public buildings include the Flemish/Romanesque Revival styled Post Office at 378 Burwood Road, the former RSL at 605 & 607 Glenferrie Road, and the Manresa kindergarten at 84 Lynch Street.
Glenferrie Road commercial precinct is significant for its substantial concentration of significant places associated with the development of retailing, with a large number of contributory items from the Victorian era and including a number of significant shops constructed in the early twentieth century. Besides the former Don department store mentioned above, these include the pair of Queen Anne two storey shops at 722 & 724 Glenferrie Road; the 2- storey Federation shop at 756-758 Glenferrie Road and a number of brick and render shops at 760-764, at 768-772 Glenferrie Road, at 774 & 776 Glenferrie Road.2A Bowen Street is a relatively intact example of a rear warehouse associated with a commercial building.
Glenferrie Road commercial precinct is significant for its nineteenth century commercial and retail properties. These include the significant terrace of stuccoed Victorian shops at 730-734 Glenferrie Road and the Commercial Bank of 1892 at 633-635 Glenferrie Road.
Glenferrie Road commercial precinct Hawthorn is of social significance as a centre for municipal, professional, retail and entertainment functions since the 1860s. (RNE Criterion G.1)
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Glenferrie Road Commercial Precinct - Physical Conditions
Scale, form and siting
The section of Glenferrie Road between Barkers and Burwood Roads is one of Melbourne's traditional strip shopping centres that developed largely in the later decades of the nineteenth century. As part of the grid pattern of major roads that characterise the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Glenferrie Road rises north and south to the ridges of Burwood and Barkers Road, with a low point in the middle. The railway bridges form a dominant element as they cross above Glenferrie Road and they tend to obscure views along the street. However the railway station also provides the pedestrian laneway space, Tin Pan Alley and the two storey Owen's Buildings of 1922 fronting railway land. As a pedestrian space this area works particularly well, giving access to Swinburne University.
Adjacent to the railway station (672-674 Glenferrie Road) is a two storey building of large Department store however it is now divided into individual tenancies. The form, scale and detailing are similar to other shops however the windows are much larger. The location of the store next to the station would have had strategic retail advantages. This building, together with the station and Tin Pan Alley is still the focus to the Glenferrie Road.
The block bounded by Burwood, Glenferrie, Oxley Roads and Kent Street contains several public buildings including the Romanesque Revival Hawthorn Post Office, and the Italianate Town Hall, built in the 1930s. As a consequence of these larger scale buildings and provision for parking, the pattern of development of this block is different to others along Glenferrie Road.
The highest concentration of buildings associated with the development of Glenferrie Road in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century are in the section of the street on the east side between Bowen Street and Burwood Road.
On the south-west side of the train station is Lynch Street. The east end of the north side retains a pair of two-storey attached terrace houses at 37-39. On the south side, across from these houses, is the Church of the Immaculate Conception complex (HO262). Further along, it has been redeveloped with light-industrial buildings of a much larger scale, mainly from the mid to late 20th century.
The corner of Burwood and Glenferrie Roads is dominated on the west side by the Church of the Immaculate Conception and the former CBA bank. The east side has less dominant buildings with a contemporary office building and the former Morrisons hardware store.
Subdivision layout and public realm
The subdivision pattern of Glenferrie Road is predominantly driven by the need to maximize the number of commercial frontages, resulting in the characteristic long, narrow blocks. Side streets and lanes are frequent, allowing for many corner buildings. Glenferrie Road acts as a boundary between very different residential precincts of Grace Park and Hawthorn Grove to the west and Liddiard Street to the east.
The width of Glenferrie Road accommodates footpaths of fairly narrow width, parallel parking, one lane of traffic each way and two sets of tramlines however there is no additional space for the public realm. There are very few trees provided in Glenferrie Road, although contemporary office and retail developments generally set aside space for landscaping. Except for the recreation centre in Grace Street, there is almost no off street parking. The backs of commercial properties generally abut laneways adjacent to residential properties.
Building styles
The characteristic buildings in the study area are the rows of late Victorian, Edwardian and Interwar shops of predominantly two storey height with decorative parapets and a variety of brick and render detailing.
644-648 Glenferrie Road is a block of three interwar shops. The tripartite windows form a flowing composition with alternating arched and flat window heads. The composition is derived from the use of different wall planes, parapets and pilasters that form subtle variations across the facade in a Secessionist style. The use of applied decoration is much diminished apart from the implied entablature and some decoration on the pilasters.
672-674 Glenferrie Road is the former Don department store by architects Ward and Carleton (1910)81 and consists of a brick and render, five bay building with arched window openings at the upper level, high level windows to ground floor, and applied render decoration to the parapet. There is original window joinery to two of the bays. The window mouldings are especially wide.
768-772 Glenferrie Road and Dixon's Block are Edwardian shops by architect A.A. Fritsch (1900)82, with a flamboyant parapet of engaged piers at a 45 degree angle. The tiled parapet has a Moorish influence and the rendered detailing has incised decoration to the balusters. The semi octagonal engaged piers and shaped gable parapet are of note.
Also known as Dixon's Block, at 760-764 Glenferrie Road are highly detailed Edwardian shops with red brick and render detailing and tiling to the shaped gable parapet. The windows are different in that they are bow fronted, however a similar string course and small dentils is employed at parapet level. The engaged piers are flat and surmounted by rounded brickwork. The sloped arcaded parapet balustrade is of note.
Also by Fritsch, 774-776 Glenferrie Road is located between the two Dixons Block buildings described above and is complementary in materials and detailing. The steeply pitched gable roof is visible behind a low parapet with rendered pilasters clustered on high relief. The upper facade is highly modelled with a blind brickwork pattern above tripartite banded arched window head executed in moulded brickwork.
There are several fine bank buildings including the Edwardian ANZ (687 Glenferrie Road), Late Victorian former Commercial Bank (348 Burwood Road), and a former bank at 365 Burwood Road by architects Wight and Lucas83, which has a highly inventive use of classical elements and a slate mansard roof.
The Hawthorn Town Hall is a symmetrical composition in the Victorian Italianate style by architect John Beswicke. The central entrance is set back and fronted by a porte cochere and a mansard roofed tower of five storeys. The highly elaborate front is grafted onto an earlier building and more pedestrian building. A carriageway entrance gives access to an internal courtyard from Glenferrie Road.
81 Upper Hawthorn Conservation Study, G.Butler, 1983, p28
82 Ibid, p28
83 Ibid, p28
Integrity
Parts of Glenferrie Road have a high integrity through the retention of many nineteenth and early twentieth century commercial buildings. There is generally a high level of integrity in the upper level facades, although few ground level shopfronts are contemporary with the buildings.
The corner of Burwood Road and Glenferrie has two significant buildings with the Catholic Church and former CBA bank, however 347-351 Burwood Road (former Morrison's hardware) presents an unusual form for the street, looking residential in character on Glenferrie Road. The office building adjacent to the Hawthorn Town Hall does not successfully address this important corner.
Painted buildings sometimes detract from the integrity of the whole row, particularly when part of a building is face brick and unpainted render and part is painted. Inappropriate colour schemes and advertising detract from the otherwise high integrity of some commercial buildings, particularly those flanking the entrance to the station.
Heritage Study and Grading
Boroondara - Hawthorn Heritage Precinct Study (Amendment C99)
Author: Context P/L
Year: 2012
Grading:
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