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National Trustees Executors & Agency Co

Location 93 - 95 Queen Street,, MELBOURNE VIC 3000 - Property No B6571 File Number B6571 Level Regional

[1/1] B6571 National Trustees

Statement of Significance

The National Trustees Executors & Agency Co of Australia offices designed by the prominent architects A & K Henderson and Partners, and constructed in 1939 by the builder Andrew Douglas (Deceased Estate), is architecturally of regional significance as a modest but well articulated example of the modern commercial Gothic style.
The building follows in the tradition of The National Executors Agency Co headquarters around the corner in Collins Street, (also by A & K Henderson, in 1937) and the Manchester Unity Building as examples of commercial office buildings of modern vertical form with Gothic influence to their detailing. The building's symmetry, high podium, fine materials and detailing give it a handsome presence on the street despite its modest scale and the recent high rise office developments surrounding it.
Refurbished in 1989, the interior has been largely destroyed, with the introduction of a mezzaine level to the double height foyer space to provide an extra level of office space facing Queen Street. The facade is generally intact, except for the painting of the Wunderlich terracotta faience base treatment.
The salmon pink face bricks used for the vertical piers, the bronze window frames and the synthetic stone facing used as panels between the windows and for the pierced tracery parapet are still intact.
Classified: 05/12/1994