Posts Tagged ‘city of yarra’

Very sad times for Melbourne art deco fans.

The long protracted death of Penfold’s buildings, a stunning but derelict moderne-style tram shed on the corner of Brunswick Street and Victoria Parade has inally reached its climax.  One of the rare works of reknowned interwar architect Harry Norris, the result of a remodelling of an 1880s cable tram station in 1936 has succumbed to redevelopment as part of an apartment complex.

A failed nomination was made to the Victorian Heritage Register in 2007.  The state government planning minister ignored the appeals of the City of Yarra, Art Deco Society, National Trust and local residents – siding with the developer to push ahead for its removal in 2008.  An appeal taken to VCAT was overruled allowing the sheds to be demolished.  Sadly it was argued that not even the spectacular tower and facade were worth saving.  In the writers opinion with a simple coat of paint this building could have remained a great deco landmark.

The bulldozers were very quick to move in today.

The Capital Bakeries, a similar remodelled cable tram shed in Chapel Street has also been approved for demolition and awaits the same fate.

If these demolitions move you even slightly my recommendation would be to join the Art Deco Society today and help preserve what is left of our fantastic art deco heritage before it is too late.

One can only hope that the apartment building that replace them will stand the test of time.  Fitzroy’s heritage character is certainly not be the winner here.  Such a shame that our planners and developers have such narrow vision.

And so the unrelenting destruction continues …

The ABC television news recently ran a story about the demise of Dimmey’s in Richmond including the closure of the store, the planned hi-rise development behind the recently heritage listed tower, facadism and the demolition of the heritage listed “History of Richmond” mural to make way for a new multi-storey carpark.  The video footage features interviews with prominent locals including Mirka Mora.

The Age has also chipped in with an article specifically about the fate of the Hayden Dewar designed mural titled  “Dim Future for Dimmey’s Mural“.

The future of Dimmey’s is now in the hands of Heritage Victoria and a State Government whose planning minister Justin Madden has public stated his willingness to forsake our cultural heritage to stimulate the economy.

It would be a terrible tragedy for Melbourne to lose such an institution and important cultural landmark.

A 9 level tower could soon dwarf the landmark Dimmey’s clock tower in Richmond/Cremorne if Heritage Victoria approves the development.

The clock tower was recently added to the Victorian Heritage Register, however such a development if not handled sensitively could potentially not only spoil Dimmey’s, but the entire character of Swan Street.

Spotted on Realestatesource.com.au

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Just to prove that the Melbourne public do care about heritage, a low key appeal to restore Audrey the Skipping Girl sign, which we helped to promote late last year has reached its quota and work will begin shortly on restoration of the neon sign.

Thanks to all our readers (myself included) who chipped in !

Now if only we could use the same resources to stop developers from laying waste to the rest of Melbourne and bringing back a sense of community pride ….