Kew Tram Depot

The significant elements of the Kew Tram Depot are the administration building and the tram shed. As an operational Depot, the complex retains the arrangement of tracks entering the shed from the west and these are also important. In the case of the administration building, the key elements are the external facades, including the Barkers Road elevation and the returns at the western and eastern end (albeit the latter is partly obscured by the single-storey wing at the corner of Barkers Road and High Street). The single-storey Inspector's cabin at the western end of the administration block is of no significance. In the case of the tram shed, the key elevations are the western elevation and entry, where the sawtooth form of the building is expressed and the setback to Bowen Street demonstrates the operation of the depot, and the eastern elevation to High Street. The northern elevation of the tram shed is a secondary element in a presentational sense. Further research would be required to determine the origins and design intent of the single-storey infill-like wing at the corner of Barkers Road and High Street, however on the basis of the work to date this is considered to be a lesser element.

The Kew Tram Depot is of historical and aesthetic significance to the City of Boroondara.

The Kew Tram Depot is of historical significance for its association with the Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust and the expansion of the electric tramways system into the local area, a key development in the history of the suburb. While altered, including through the demolition of the separate wing on the Bowen Street frontage, the surviving complex retains the key elements of a tram depot of the early twentieth century and is able to demonstrate the characteristics of such places.

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

House