Former Salvation Army Citadel
53 Grosvenor Street SOUTH YARRA, STONNINGTON CITY
Chapel Street Precinct
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Statement of Significance
Note that the relevant HERCON criteria are shown in brackets.
What is Significant?
The former Salvation Army Citadel at 53 Grosvenor Street, South Yarra is a red brick Edwardian Free Classical style building constructed in 1919. The building ceased to function as a Salvation Army Citadel in 1971 and was subsequently converted into a child care centre.
Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):
- The original external form, materials and detailing including Salvation Army signage and memorial tablets.
- Unpainted face brickwork.
- The street facade's high level of intactness.
The interiors and modern additions and alterations (including non-original doors and windows, roof cladding and rainwater goods, the rear verandah, the shed in the rear yard and all landscaping and fencing) are not significant.
How is it significant?
The former Salvation Army Citadel at 53 Grosvenor Street, South Yarra is of local architectural and historical significance to the City of Stonnington.
Why is it significant?
The former Salvation Army Citadel is architecturally significant as a fine and largely intact example of an ecclesiastical building in the Edwardian Free classical style. It is also a good representative example of a Salvation Army building of the period (Criterion D).
The former Salvation Army Citadel is historically significant for its association with the Salvation Army (Criterion H). The imposing streetscape presence of the Citadel provides evidence of the importance of the Salvation Army as a community organisation in the early twentieth century. The Citadel is also illustrative of the Salvation Army's major phase of expansion in the 1910s (Criterion A).
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Former Salvation Army Citadel - Physical Description 1
The former Salvation Army Citadel is a single-storey Edwardian Free Classical style building with red brick walls and a gabled roof. The symmetrical Grosvenor Street facade has a parapeted gable and strongly modelled pilasters at either end with rendered cornices and stylised brackets. The main entrance at the centre of the facade has an arched rendered hood, flanked on either side by timber-framed sash windows. Above the entrance is rendered pedimented panel with the words 'THE SALVATION ARMY CITADEL'. The gable apex is surmounted by an arched pediment with the year '1919' (the year of construction). There are two memorial tablets located under the windows on the front elevation. The first reads:
'This building was opened in the glory of God, and for the salvation of the people by Commissioner T. H. Howard, Chief of Staff / Wm Bramwell Booth, General 12th July, 1919'.
The second tablet bears the inscription:
'Foundation of the Corps, February 1891. What Hath God Wrought'
The side elevations of the Citadel are simply detailed and have regularly spaced windows set between brick buttresses. The windows have rendered lintels and sills, multi-pane upper sashes and angled bottom sashes. A parapet located at the Grosvenor Street end of the east side elevation contains a rendered signage panel reading 'THE SALVATION ARMY CITADEL'.
The Grosvenor Street facade remains intact apart from the main entry door having been replaced with a window. The original timber picket fence along Grosvenor Street has been replaced by a low garden bed with a bluestone retaining wall. A new entrance with a metal awning and metal gate has been created on the west elevation, replacing a window.
Also on the west elevation, an original door opening has been fitted with a timber-framed window. The front bay of the east elevation has a non-original door opening. At the rear of the building, a verandah has been erected to the side of the original skillion roofed band room. The band room wall has been painted over and has a modern window frame. The rear elevation was part demolished to create a door opening onto the new verandah. An original doorway near the east end of the verandah has been fitted with a timber framed window. Gutters and downpipes have been replaced, roof vents have been removed and the roof reclad in modern metal decking. These changes have not substantially undermined the external integrity of the place, which remains high overall.
The interiors have been comprehensively refurbished and retain little evidence of their original design other than a rendered ruled ashlar wall finish and a dado moulding.
The building appears to be in good condition externally although cracks were observed in the Grosvenor Street facade. There is also decayed mortar near ground level along the front and west side of the building, possibly caused by rising damp.
Former Salvation Army Citadel - Local Historical Themes
The former Salvation Army Ctadel, South Yarra illustrates the following themes, as identified in the Stonnington Thematic Environmental History (Context Pty Ltd, 2006):
10.2 Worshipping
10.3 Helping other people
Heritage Study and Grading
Former Salvation Army Citadel - Heritage Citation Report
Author: Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd
Year: 2017
Grading: A2
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PRIMARY SCHOOL NO. 1467Victorian Heritage Register H1032
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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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