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Former Cable Tram Engine House

Location Cnr Nicholson & Gertrude Streets,, FITZROY VIC 3065 - Property No B3891 File Number B3891 Level National

[1/2] B3891 Fmr Cable Tram Engine [2/2] B3891 Fmr Cable Tram Engine

Statement of Significance

This cable tram engine house is of National, architectural, historical and technological significance as being one of the most sophisticated examples of this type of building which survives from Melbourne's former cable tram system, the most extensive cable tram system in the world operated by a single authority.
Constructed in 1886-87 to the design of notable architect Alexander Davidson as the third engine house built in this system, the building is more ornamental than others of its type, employing cement and bluestone dressings against bi-chrome brick. An eclectic and inventive use of architectural motifs drawn from the Italian Renaissance and contemporary English commercial architecture has been employed in this robust design. Included in the design is a particularly fine corbelled polygonal signal box mounted above the parapet over the corner splay of the building. The parapet urns and miniature dome of this signal box echo those of the Exhibition Buildings opposite.
It is of historical significance as an element in the tram routes which made the corner of Nicholson and Gertrude Streets a focal point for the city and provided an impetus to the development of the commercial precincts of Fitzroy, Melbourne's first suburb, and also as the last operating engine house in Melbourne, closing on 26 October 1940.
Classified: 13/10/77
Upgraded: 17/03/1993