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Former Ballarat State Offices

Other Name Ballarat Courthouse Location Camp Street,, BALLARAT CENTRAL VIC 3350 - Property No B6863 File Number B6863 Level Regional

[1/1] B6863 Former Ballarat State

Statement of Significance

The former Ballarat State Offices, designed by Percy Everett, Chief Architect of the Public Works Department, and completed in 1941 is of a Regional architecural and historic significance as an impressive moderne style public building in a regional centre. Architecturally, the stepped massing, and vertical articulation displays the infulence of the American interwar "skyscraper" style, which is higly unusual outside the Melbourne city area (the Russell Street Police Headquarters, also designed by Percy Everett in the same year, is considered the most successful "mini-skyscraper" in the city). The massive brick framing of the two main flanking sections of the Ballarat State Offices undermine the verticality of the design, but create an interesting tension, and provide a more traditional solid emphasis to the building. Located just off Sturt Street, the main civic street of Ballarat, the building is sited in such a way that a short formal axis is created, providing an impressive civic setting. The building is large, yet does not dominate the many other architecturally notable buildings in Camp Street, and is at an appropriate scale for the centre of Ballarat. Historically, it has been the centre for administration of State government departments, and for the dispensation of justice in Ballarat, for over 50 years.
Classified: 04/05/1998