Mixed Residential and Commercial Building "William House" (101-111 William Stree

Item details


Name of item:	Mixed Residential and Commercial Building "William House" (101-111 William Stree
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Commercial Office/Building
Primary address:	101-115 William Street, Darlinghurst, NSw 2010
Local govt. area:	Sydney

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
101-115 William Street	Darlinghurst	Sydney			Primary Address
101-111 William Street	Darlinghurst	Sydney			Alternate Address

Statement of significance:


	William House is of local historic and aesthetic significance. It is a fine example of an inter-war commercial building, with the primary façade displaying key elements of the Inter- War Chicagoesque style of architecture. The building is part of a group of similar Inter-war buildings that demonstrate the re-subdivision and subsequent redevelopment that followed the widening of the southern side of William Street which collectively establish the distinctive character of the streetscape in this precinct.
	Date significance updated: 30 Apr 10
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Percy Gordon Craig
Physical description:	William House is a four storey inter-war commercial building. The façade demonstrates characteristics of the Inter-War Chicagoesque style which include "large horizontally proportioned window openings, grid like division of façade, vestigial pilasters and sketchy decorative details influenced by classical architecture." ( Richard Apperly et al, ( 1994) pp 180-183. The façade is articulated by projecting bays on the upper floors and its composition is divided both vertically and horizontally by pilasters and continuous horizontal mouldings. There is a suspended awning with a vaulted section emphasizing the main entrance at the centre of the façade. The awning structure, which features a large fascia and ribbed metal soffit lining, has been replaced. A detracting double height fascia has been added to the awning. The shop fronts have been renewed and upper level windows replaced with simple steel framed sashes The Barnett Lane elevation is comparatively simple, with cement rendered walls and timber framed windows which are not original. The structure of the building consists of reinforced concrete floor slabs supported off a grid of beams and octagonal reinforced concrete columns. External walls are understood to be constructed of brick. The roof is a hipped timber framed structure with corrugated steel. Early drawings show that the soffits of floor slabs and beams were exposed on each upper level. The interiors to the floor showroom have been refurbished on previous occasions and little internal fabric of significance remains visible on the ground floor of the building. Some internal columns, most notably towards the southern end of the entry lobby area have their stepped capitals still visible and the existing ceiling in the entry lobby also appears original. The centre of the building is occupied by vertical circulation (lift and stair) male and female toilets and a corridor. Little original or early fabric is in evident on the upper floors except for the balustrade and hand rail associated with the stair. The stair from the ground to first floor has a decorative wrought iron balustade with timber hand rail, whilst to the upper floors it has a masonry balsutrade with timber handrail. Some remnants of early electrical services also survive.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Fair
	Date condition updated:30 Apr 10
Modifications and dates:	Wall tiles added to the lower sections of masonry elements of the ground floor and loss of detail from the piers flanking the central doorway. Interior has been refurbished several times with some loss of original fabric. 2005- double height fascia added to the suspended awning.
Further information:	Heritage Inventory sheets are often not comprehensive, and should be regarded as a general guide only. Inventory sheets are based on information available, and often do not include the social history of sites and buildings. Inventory sheets are constantly updated by the City as further information becomes available. An inventory sheet with little information may simply indicate that there has been no building work done to the item recently: it does not mean that items are not significant. Further research is always recommended as part of preparation of development proposals for heritage items, and is necessary in preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments and Conservation Management Plans, so that the significance of heritage items can be fully assessed prior to submitting development applications.


Current use:	motor show room and offices
Former use:	motor showroom and offices

History

Historical notes:

The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. .

With European Occupation of the Sydney region from 1788, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today.

The site on which the subject property is located was originally part of the 70 acre grant made to John Palmer in 1794 which he called George Farm. His support of Governor Bligh during the Rum Rebellion in 1808, led to Palmer losing his position as the Commissary General and he spent time in England because of subsequent inquiries. He returned to the colony in May 1814 and his outstanding debts were settled when the Sheriff sold off the Surry Hills Estate on 1 October that year, after which time it was subdivided into 27 allotments by Surveyor General James Meehan.

In June 1819 Edward Riley, a merchant and pastoralist, started to purchase the allotments in an effort to reassemble Palmer's estate. Conflicting wills left after his suicide on 21 February 1825 resulted in the subdivision of the land into 7 portfolios with ownership of the allotments being confirmed by a final decree of the Supreme Court on 5 July 1844.

The Sydney Corporation Amendment Act 1905 and Sydney Corporation Amendment At 1906 empowered Sydney Municipal Council to purchase or resume land for road widening or for new roads. On 1 June 1916 Council had resumed 94 properties on the southern side of William Street for road widening and existing buildings were demolished. On completion of the works Council subdivided the land and sold surplus land. Covenants were placed that any building erected should be at least 3 storeys high above the level of William Street and should be in accordance with the requirements of the City of Sydney Improvement Act and Public Health Act 1902.

William House was constructed c 1928 to the design of architect Percy Gordon Craig. He designed several hotels, including the Harbord Hotel in 1928,and a residential hotel and shops at Earlwood in 1931. He was also involved with the design of large building in Sydney, Watson House, at 9 Bligh Street in association with Henry Budden in 1927, which was recently demolished.

The first major tenant in William House was a branch of Cheney's Australia. The company was founded by Sydney Albert Cheney ( 1883-1968). Cheney took up a Chevrolet agency in 1920, and took up selling Austin and Morris vehicles in 1926. William Morris, founder of the company that manufactured cars bearing his name, established Morris ( NSW) Pty Ltd in 1927 to coordinate sales of the vehicles. The association between Cheney and Morris may not have lasted long for by 1930 Morris ( NSW ) P/l was listed as the principle tenant of the building. Whatever the circumstances, Cheney closed down his business during the depression.

The next major tenant was Yorks Motors which was headed by Dick Cobden. York Motors was set up in 1932 to distribute Morris cars, after Morris curtailed its local retailing activities. The same year York Motors become sole NSW distributors of Plymouth and Chrysler cars. York Motors remained an occupant of the building until the first decade of the 21st century.

Mechanical ventilation systems were installed during the 1960s. Between 1972 and 1976 interiors underwent progressive refurbishment, which included installation of partitions and suspended ceilings across the first, second and third floors, and alterations to the lift lobbies. At the beginning of the 1980s office spaces were modified yet again and an air-conditioning system installed. At the end of the decade the building was refurbished to comply with the requirements of Ordinance No 70. The awning was also replaced.

The interiors have undergone further modification in the last twenty years. In 2005 a double height fascia was added to the suspended awning.

A Ferrari and Mazzerari dealerhsip occupied the ground floor from c 2005 until 2010.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Commerce-Activities relating to buying, selling and exchanging goods and services	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The site demonstrates the re-subdivision and subsequent redevelopment that followed the widening of William Street in the early 1900s.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	Ascociated with architect, Percy Gordon Craig.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	A good articulated inter-war commercial building, with the primary façade displaying key elements of the Inter- War Chicagoesque style of architecture. It is part of a row of similar Inter-war commercial buildings on the southern side of William Street which collectively establish the distinctive character of the streetscape in this precinct.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	Representative example of an inter-war commercial building, with the façade displaying key elements of the Inter- War Chicagoesque style of architecture.
Integrity/Intactness:	Exterior largely intact above awning level
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

The building should be retained and conserved. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement should be prepared for the building prior to any major works being undertaken. There shall be no vertical additions to the building and no alterations to the facade of the building other than to reinstate original features. Any additions and alterations should be confined to the rear in areas of less significance, shall not be visibly prominent and shall be in accordance with the Sydney City Council Development Control Plan. Significant fabric and spaces to be retained and conserved. The original height of the fascia should be reinstated thereby replacing the detracting double height fascia.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	I497	14 Dec 12
Heritage study

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
South Sydney Heritage Study	1993		Tropman & Tropman Architects		Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written		1928	Building, May 28th
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City
Written	Richard Apperly, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds	1994	A Pictoral Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture
Written	Rod Howard and Associates	2010	101 -11 and 113-115 William Street, Darlinghurst - Statement of Heritage Impact

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2421419

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