Posts Tagged ‘development’

Dandenong commercial buildings now demolished

Driving through Dandenong today I had a bit of a moment of sadness as I realised that one of my favourite buildings in this city has been demolished.

An Edwardian building with a distinctive domed clocktower and flagpole and its entire Edwardian streetscape on the corner of Foster Street and Wagstaff Lane has gone.

I understand that the area is undergoing heavy redevelopment as part of the State Government’s Activity Centre plans, but the street facing tower could have easily been integrated into the new development which consist of a cluster of tall office towers of over 7 storeys. The new mixed use buildings are your standard Dandenong concrete and glass affair. Set back from the street and with a mix of above and below ground parking.

I have checked and suprisingly the original building was not on the official 1998 heritage study of Dandenong city, though I’d love to know more about this former landmark.

The photo on the right (showing the for sale sign which ultimately led to redevelopment)  is courtesy of Google Maps. At the time Arkana Hardware had occupied the building and like many such buildings modern awnings had spoiled the heritage features from the street, but certainly nothing that couldn’t have been removed.

A real shame. The magnificent town hall aside, if Dandenong wasn’t already a cultural wasteland, then it most certainly is no better off for losing buildings like this one.

Princess Mary Club

The Uniting Church of Australia is adamant to develop an office tower to pay for the restoration of some of its heritage buildings, the manse, schoolhouse and caretaker’s cottage and Nicholas Hall.  However according to the church the proposal hinges on the demolition of the Princess Mary Club, a signicant interwar gothic building at 118-148 Lonsdale Street.  The church calls this outcome, which to me is a total tragedy, a “good heritage outcome on a valuable site“.  Unfortunately this is simply a polite way of saying “We’ve sold out”.

You see the Princess Mary Club is really a stunning building.  Its true magnificence, like many buildings of its ilk, is currently obscured – in this case by severely overgrown trees and scaffolding which testify to negligence and a total lack of care and respect.   The magnificent five storey building’s features include an eclectic mix of skyscraper gothic and palazzo architecture with a tudor gothic oriel, interwar gothic tower, arcade and balustraded balcony in stucco concrete.  Something totally unique in Melbourne.  It also abounds in detail and ornament typical of high Victorian architecture, even though it hails from a more recent era.  Had it been sited on a prominent corner in full view of passers by, it would be regarded as fondly as the Manchester Unity or Forum Theatre.  The building is also rich in history.  It was built in 1926 to house visiting nurses.  Personally to me this building is far more worth keeping than the other buildings on the site, which are quaint little museum pieces compared to the Princes Mary Club.  The building also forms part of Melbourne’s large and unique collection of neo-gothic buildings which span over five decades of history and tells a rich the story of the style from its own time.

The building is in a neglected state, however it is not beyond repair.  It has in recent years been home to a rug store.

A proposed 20 levels office tower with four levels of underground car parking (pictured right) would replace it.

Peddle Thorp Tower

I find it astonishing that Heritage Victoria (which has approved the demolition), the National Trust and Melbourne City Council could even consider forgoing such a heritage asset given the loss of so many unique buildings recently.  However given the recent fate of the nearby Eastern Arcade, nothing suprises me in Melbourne these days.  One would think that at the very least the facade could be retained and integrated into the podium of the new tower which is (apart from being a boring corporate design) set back from the street and the neighbouring church  anyway.

There is a mention of the development in The Age from over a year ago, but it only shows the proposed tower and not one photo of the old building.  While it makes mention of a “fight looming”, in reality both the National Trust and Heritage Victoria seem on the surface to accept the club’s ultimate demise and there is unfortunately (this website aside) not currently any strong public campaign to save it.

One can only hope that the global financial crisis puts the development on hold indefinitely until a sane outcome can be reached for Melbourne’s remaining heritage.

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