Addresses
Type of place
Shop/s
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Art Deco
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Albion Building (shops)
Albion Building
Addresses
Type of place
Shop/s
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Art Deco
This interwar commercial building is an integral part of the Albion shopping centre which retains examples of the principal phases of commercial development that took place during the 1880s and early 1890s and the subsequent revitalisation during the 1920s and 1930s. Located prominently on Sandgate Road, the shops make a pleasing contribution to the streetscape.
Lot plan
L1_RP194247
Geolocation
-27.430062 153.041891
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
People/associations
W.R. Juster (Builder)Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (D) Representative; (E) AestheticInteractive mapping
Lot plan
L1_RP194247
Geolocation
-27.430062 153.041891
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
People/associations
W.R. Juster (Builder)Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (D) Representative; (E) AestheticInteractive mapping
History
The land on which these shops now stand was originally built on in the late nineteenth century, probably prior to 1890 when George Aldred Robinson purchased the land. A 1909 photograph of ‘Albion Corner’, which was the major intersection in the Albion shopping centre, shows a double-storey timber building on the block, the top balcony of which possibly provided residential accommodation. Several more owners held the property until Albion Properties Limited bought it on 27 August 1926.
In the 1920s and 1930s Albion was experiencing another growth period as the surrounding suburbs and those to the north expanded. Urban improvements were proceeding apace and in 1927-28 the Abbotsford Road Bridge at the Albion Fiveways was constructed to accommodate the increased road traffic arising from the suburban expansion to the north. The interwar years also saw the expansion or renovation of many of the commercial buildings in Albion, and the construction of a number of new blocks housing multiple shops, including the Albion Buildings.
Soon after purchasing the property, Albion Properties Limited applied to the Brisbane City Council for building approval of a block of brick flats costing £5,300 that would stretch across the entire frontage of both subdivisions, offering space for up to five shops. The tenants of the old building remained in occupancy right until its demolition and immediately after contractor W.R. Juster completed the new shops in 1927, they were filled with various traders including a dressmaker, hairdresser, newsagent and a general storekeeper.
Albion Properties held ownership of the building for the next five and a half decades. Numerous additions, alterations and refurbishments were carried out on the Albion Building in the 1980s and 1990s, however it still retains its integrity as an interwar shopping centre and continues to be occupied by various shops today.
Description
This interwar commercial building contains a row of shops and is on a prominent location on the corner of Sandgate Road and Lever Street. It is a well-built structure with a characteristic high parapet with a finely moulded cornice at the top wrapping around the corner. The building forms a chamfered corner featuring a more ornate pediment and a corner entry from the footpath. The wide awning, suspended from the front walls over the footpath, creates a continuous horizontal element between the high parapet and the shop fronts below and balances the building’s proportions.
The building retains some of its original shop fronts with recessed entries and tasteful geometric design tiling. The building is well maintained and although some alterations or extensions have been carried out over time, it still retains its general integrity as well as some of its original detailing and finishes.
Statement of significance
Relevant assessment criteria
This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:
References
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Brisbane City Council Building Registers & Building Cards
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Brisbane City Council Water Supply & Sewerage Detail Plans
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Brisbane City Council Minutes of Proceedings
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Certificates of Title, Department of Natural Resources and Water
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Kerr, John 1988, Brunswick Street, Bowen Hills and Beyond: The Railways of the Northern Suburbs of Brisbane, Australian Railway Historical Society
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John Oxley Library photographs & clippings files
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Lawson, Ronald 1973, Brisbane in the 1890s: A Study of an Australian Urban Society, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia
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McKellar’s Estate Maps of Brisbane, 1895
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Nundah & District Historical Society files
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Queensland Pioneers Index 1829-1889, Qld Registrar-General, March 2000
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Queensland Post Office Directories, 1887-1949
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Waterson, D.B., A Biographical Register of the Queensland Parliament 1860-1929, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised September 2020)