Central Park Shopping Centre Precinct
Wattletree and Burke Roads MALVERN EAST, Stonnington City
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Statement of Significance
The Central Park shops were established to cater mainly for the needs of local residents in this rapidly developing East Malvern area, bu also for visitors to Central Park. The Wattletree Road tram had a direct impact on the development of the area, and in particular the establishment of the shops.
The Central Park shops are of social significance as they play an important role in the community and in their relationship to the adjacent tram line and Central Park. In their context, they illustrate the typical early twentieth century interdependence between the development of suburban housing, recreation facilities, public transport and the smaller shopping strip.
The precinct is important for the degree to which it retains its building stock, scale and general character from the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, undiluted by more recent development. It is a fine and representative exemplar of typical suburban commercial properties of these decades. The location of the precinct, intermediate between Central Park and the Gascoigne, Ranfurlie, Hedgeley Dene and Valentine Estates, adds to its importance, and renders it crucial to an appreciation of the development of these significant contingent areas.
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Central Park Shopping Centre Precinct - Physical Description 1
The Central Park shopping precinct is located at the intersection of Burke Road and Wattletree Road in Malvern. The area under consideration comprises approximately thirty shops which occupy a gently sloping site overlooking Central Park. The proposed Conservation Area comprises two groups of shops located on the north west and south east corners of the intersection. However, the San Jose flats on the north east corner of the intersection and the park to the southwest are central to the character of the area.
The shopping precinct is located at the intersection of two, busy arterial roads at the end of the Malvern tram line. The intersection is surfaced in bitumen with modern, concrete kerbs and gutters and footpaths constructed of predominantly concrete.
With the exception of a handful of decorative shrubs, the shopping frontage is devoid of landscaping and dense with roadside furniture such as poles for traffic lights, signage and overhead lighting. Nonetheless, the landscaping associated with the neighbouring San Jose flats, and the abundance of mature growth in the park and nearby residential gardens creates an unusually verdant atmopshere which adds to the attraction of the precinct.
The building stock exclusively comprises small retail outlets of one or two storeys, but is relatively diverse in its architectural expression. The earliest shops were built contemporary with the establishment of the park and are modest structures finished in red or rendered brick. Later buildings are more ornate, with elaborate details realised in cement render and strutted Marseilles tiles roofs. The Georgian inspired State Bank at 389-391 Wattletreet Road achieves a synthesis of Georgian and Federation characteristics readily identified with the conservatism of the period about the First World War, while the horizontal polychromy of some buildings, such as 159-163 Burke Road, heralds the arrival of Modernism in Melbourne.
Central Park Shopping Centre Precinct - Local Historical Themes
7.1 Serving local communities
4.5 Tramways
8.7.2 Public Health and Municipal Pride
Heritage Study and Grading
Stonnington - City of Stonnington Heritage Overlay Report (Stages 1-5) 1998
Author: Bryce Raworth P/L
Year: 1998
Grading: Various
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MALVERN HOUSEVictorian Heritage Register H0379
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CENTRAL PARK CONSERVATORYVictorian Heritage Register H0908
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HAROLD HOLT MEMORIAL SWIMMING CENTREVictorian Heritage Register H0069
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