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McDonald & Co Building

Location 165 Flinders Lane,, MELBOURNE VIC 3000 - Property No B4110 File Number B4110 Level Local

[1/2] B4110 McDonald & Co [2/2] B4110 McDonald & Co

Statement of Significance

This building was developed by a clothing manufacturer and agent to serve their industry in the area regarded until comparatively recently as the national capital of that industry. It was built in 1921. Constructed in reinforced concrete, it is embellished with minimal classical detail. Apart from the striking ratio between its height and narrow width, two details give it an idiosyncratic quality generally absent from this architecturally rich but conventional precinct; one in ornament, the other in plan. Residual louvered shutters, in pressed cement, flank each centre square window on the street elevation. Those windows serve the main staircase, the front of the building being given over to this stair alone. This is probably the only example of such a space allocation in a commercial building in Melbourne. The austere facade fenestration contrasts strongly with the generous window to wall ratio on the building's only other exposed elevation (the western exposure to Hosier Lane). The building's architects, Robertson & Marks, were responsible for, inter alia, the landmark AWA Building (1938) in their native Sydney.
Classified: 23/07/1981
Revised: 30/11/1989