Shops (former Giles Hardware), 64-68 Napier Street, ST ARNAUD

The former Giles Hardware building is architecturally significant at a LOCAL level. Apart from the cantilever verandah, it demonstrates original design qualities of a rudimentary interwar commercial style. These qualities include the dominant rendered parapet, with multi-corbelled projecting piers (forming a narrow bay at one end and the termination of the larger bay at the other end), chamfered pilasters crowned with simple orbs, shallow segmentally arched pediment with a rudimentary capping, heavily moulded and projecting stringcourse that punctuates the piers and pilasters, lower pointed ends to the piers, and the rounded consoles ends to the pilasters. Other intact or appropriate qualities include the row of segmentally arched, six paned and timber framed windows that form highlights for the shop interiors, three early metal framed shopfront bays with dark green glazed tile surrounds, timber and glazed doors and ingoes and leadlight highlights (having a typical interwar geometric pattern).

The former Giles Hardware building is historically significant at a LOCAL level. It is associated with Alfred Giles who operated a hardware store on the site for the latter part of the nineteenth century and until the late 1920s.

The former Giles Hardware building is socially significant at a LOCAL level. It is recognised by the St. Arnaud community as having public value as one of the early 20th century commercial buildings in the town, having initially been established in an earlier building on the site by Alfred Giles.

Overall, the former Giles Hardware building is of LOCAL significance.

Group

Retail and Wholesale

Category

Shop