Upper Footscray Res Heritage Area

The Upper Footscray Residential Precinct is significant historically and aesthetically to the City of Maribyrnong because:
- it is a relatively unaltered Victorian and Edwardian precinct of both working and middle class housing which offers a cohesive cultural and visual character reflective of two growth eras in the City including:
- small generally Edwardian single-storey detached housing with mainly weatherboard wall cladding, corrugated iron roofing, similar front and side setbacks and narrow block frontages outside of Droop Street and Geelong Road,
- notable civic and residential buildings along Geelong Road with wide frontages, deeper setbacks, masonry construction (red brick), some slate and Marseilles pattern unglazed terracotta tile roofing, and generally larger scale,
- surviving examples of original asphalt footpaths and stone kerb and channel,
- the evocation of the pre motor car era with no original provision for on-site vehicle parking for most of the identified housing, with some exceptions along Geelong Road where stables were provided at the rear, and -built form of the typical Edwardian villa main hip and projecting gable roof form combination (Criterion A4);
- it illustrates the fundamental influence of the Edwardian industrial boom in Footscray which made the City the foremost industrial centre in the State and led to an expanded local workforce and new housing estates (Criterion A4);
- there are individually significant places within the precinct such as the Geelong Road group of large Victorian & Edwardian-era villas and individually notable civic architecture which provide architectural focus within the area (Criterion F1);
- it demonstrates the egalitarian nature of 19th century Footscray by the juxta-posing of worker and middle class housing plus adjacent industry in Footscray Road within the one locality (Criterion A3); and
- it illustrates the growth patterns engendered by the siting of railway stations, schools and prestigious residences (Criterion A4) .

Australian Heritage Commission (AHC) criteria

The Australian Heritage Commission criteria consist of a set of eight criteria which cover social, aesthetic, scientific, and historic values. Each criterion has sub-criteria written specifically for cultural or natural values. The relevant criteria are:

A.3 richness and diversity of cultural features

A.4 demonstrates well the course and pattern of history, important historic events

F.1 design or technological achievement .

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

Residential Precinct