a facade of heritage values
When I wrote recently about the doomed art deco warehouse on the corner of Brunswick St and Victoria Parade I did not realise how doomed it was, and did not expect it to be demolished before the end of the year. As reported by Melbourne Heritage Watch and Bosco Parrasio, the demolition began on 2 December and continued for several days. I took these photos on Saturday 5 December, when it appeared that the tower and front facade were being retained.
If I was buying a new apartment on this location, I would think at least some trace of the past and of the fabulous deco style would enhance my apartment building and increase its value. I’ll be curious to see if the facade is kept for eye candy purposes.
The fate of this building has been a curious case as all avenues at preservation were explored and rejected by the government. They seemed to have an agenda regarding this location from the start that could not be altered.
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Other posts you may find relevant and interesting
- behind the facade, 24 April 2010
- the MCA projections in Sydney, 21 June 2009
- Fitzroy history – from Rojo furniture to Thonet furniture, 19 December 2008
- art deco at Bondi beach, 25 January 2007
- Fitzroy history – the doomed art deco warehouse, 22 November 2009
December 9th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
It’s really disappointing hey. There aren’t many old buildings left in Melbourne. If the Yorkshire Brewery ends up getting redeveloped as planned I’m going to have a breakdown.
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December 10th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Why the hell do they have to destroy yesterdays beauty to replace it with ugly utilitarian crap that has no merit in style or artistry? *sigh*
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December 10th, 2009 at 8:52 am
It frustrates me too! Utilitarian modern building can still be aesthetically pleasing if it has context, such as by using an old building shell as a framework for a new building, like a lot of Fitzroy apartments built out of old warehouses.
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December 10th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
I went past today and the tower is pretty much gone too. :(
There seems to be so much frustration and concern out there about this destruction, how do we take it and use it to stop these developments??
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December 10th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
There goes my hope that the tower would be retained. It seems that the Deco Society and concerned people did everything they could to preserve the building but the government refused to allow the building to be heritage listed. There appeared to be a political agenda that was in conflict with the social agenda.
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December 11th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Let’s hope there’s more luck in preserving Lonsdale House in the city. If you’ve not signed the petition already, check out http://www.savelonsdalehouse.com
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December 15th, 2009 at 9:22 am
I saw the empty site this morning with the facade completely gone. So sad :(
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December 15th, 2009 at 9:46 am
So they were keeping the facade for a few days just to tease us :-(
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December 15th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
In other countries buildings are preserved ans used for centuries, yet in this relatively young country we cant even preserve historicaly and culturaly significant buildings that are under a century old. How bleak.
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June 7th, 2010 at 3:23 am
I loved this building and had hope for some of it to be retained. I know it stood unused for a long time, but to go past and see it being taken down was terribly heartbreaking. A shame that Lonsdale House had to follow. Is the land owned by ACU next door? There was some reference to the space being used as a carpark for the uni.
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