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Shops & Offices

Location 236-252 Brunswick Street,, FITZROY VIC 3065 - Property No B4770 File Number B4770 Level State

[1/1] B4770 236-252 Brunswick Street

Statement of Significance

This block of shops and offices, constructed in 1888, is one of the best surviving examples of a boom-style brick commercial premises in Victoria. The building is of a highly individual style incorporating a wide range of distinctive elements. A dominant as well as disntictive structure, the building is a key part of the Brunswick Street streetscape and, visible also from nearby areas, it is a landmark in this part of Melbourne. Added significance lies in the fact that the building was designed by prominent Melbourne architect John Beswicke; the structure is actually one of the most substantial, intact, surviving commercial works by this architect.
Classified: 18/03/1982
Revised: 03/08/1998
**
This building is included in the Brunswick Street Classification, "State" level 4/12/2000

Statement of Significance
The shopping strip of Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, developed from the 1840s,
and predominantly dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is of
State historical, architectural and social significance.

Historically, Brunswick Street was the first significant shopping area
outside the city, described as rivalling Bourke Street in the 1850s. It
developed as a major general shopping precinct by the 1900s, when it was
overtaken in pre-eminence by Smith Street, Chapel Street, and the ever
growing city stores. The following decline was not reversed until its
establishment as an 'alternative' shopping strip from the 1980s,
reinvigorating the now well preserved building stock.

Architecturally, Brunswick Street is notable as a particularly cohesive and
intact 19th and early 20th century shopping strip, which includes a number
of individually significant shop/house and shop/warehouse developments, such as the Beswicke Building,
the post office and early hotels. In some instances the buildings' size is
testimony to the success and aspirations of the people who traded and
shopped in the street. There is also an unusually high proportion of
original nineteenth century shopfronts for the metropolitan context. The
urban picture created by the building stock is further enhanced by the
intactness of most upper-floor facades, and the tram route which still runs
along the street. The view of St Patrick's Cathedral is one of the major
urban vistas in the whole of Melbourne, and is comparable with the view to
the Shrine along St Kilda Road.

Socially, Brunswick Street has played an important role in serving the
diverse population of Fitzroy, including the artisans and working classes
of the nineteenth century, the low income residents particularly of the
numerous boarding houses of the twentieth century, and the large number of
migrants after the Second World War. From the 1980s Brunswick Street has
been considered Melbourne's most "Bohemian" and varied shopping strip,
quite distinct from other shopping strips in the inner city. It is home to
a range of shops, bars and cafes catering to a clientele looking for a
creative, challenging, or socially aware experience. Visitors value the
interesting ambience, the egalitarian feel of the place, and the artistic
expression in the signs and street furniture.