"Griffith's Building" including interior

Item details


Name of item:	"Griffith's Building" including interior
Other name/s:	Griffith's Teas Building
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Warehouse/storage area
Location:	Lat: -33.8804811929029 Long: 151.209548655382
Primary address:	46-52 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Local govt. area:	Sydney

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
46-52 Wentworth Avenue	Surry Hills	Sydney			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The Griffith's Building has historical significance as a representative example of the development of the eastern fringe of the central business district with large-scale warehousing in the early twentieth century, and a reminder of a firm which was once a household word. It has aesthetic significance as a well detailed late Federation warehosue and factory building occupying a prominent corner site with a strong visual relationship to the former Mark Foy's warehouse at 52-68 Commonwealth Street. It retains much original detailing to upper floors including the name "Griffith's Teas" in the tile-work to the parapet, plus remnants of advertising panels referring to the company's products.
	Date significance updated: 20 Mar 06
	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:	Kent, Budden and Greenwell
Builder/Maker:	John Grant and Sons
Physical description:	The Griffith's Building is a seven storey former warehouse which occupies the whole of a prominent triangular corner site. Its most recognisable element is the integral sign "Griffiths Teas" which is built into the parapet using glazed white bricks. The building has regular well proportioned facades of pale face brick, with many double timber framed windows. Internally the building has been adapted for office space and other uses. Category:Individual Building. Style: Late Federation warehouse. Storeys:7. Facade:Face brick, timber frame windows. Side/Rear Walls:face brick, timber frame windows. Internal Walls:Brick. Roof Cladding:Waterproof membrane. Internal Structure:Timber post & beam ; ? Conc. encased steel frame at ground level. Floor:Timber joists & boards. Roof:Timber framing. Ceilings:Pressed metal, susp. acoustic tile. Stairs:Not inspected. Sprinkler System:Yes. Lifts:Not inspected.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The building has been extensively modernised throughout, however, examples of original finishes and details are visible.
	Date condition updated:12 Jan 06
Modifications and dates:	Application for adaptive reuse and additions - D/2015/61.
Further information:	High Significance:Original facades including face brick walls and integral parapet signage, timber windows, and remnants of painted signs, original internal timber structure and surviving finishes such as pressed metal ceilings. Low Significance:Modern shopfronts and internal partitions. Streetscape: The Griffith's Building is a prominent corner building contributing significantly to the streetscape of Wentworth Avenue. 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:	Vacant
Former use:	Warehouse

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 Griffith's Building was erected c 1913 with building plans were approved in 1912. The Sydney Morning Herald on 24th December 1912 lists a contract for the "Erection of a warehouse for the Messrs Griffith Bros at Wentworth Avenue. Messrs. Kent, Budden and Greenwell, architects. Messrs John Grant and Sons, builders."

Griffith's Bros Pty Ltd, were Tea, Coffee and Cocoa Merchants. In 1924 the building appears to have been transferred to the City Council and leased to Griffith's Teas, who were evidently (from BA records) still in occupation in 1965. It has since been occupied by a variety of tenants.

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 Griffith's Building is a physical reminder of the early industrial character of this part of the city, and of the firm Griffith's Brothers Teas who were responsible for a memorable early twentieth century advertising campaign featuring small blue signs adjacent to railway lines throughout New South Wales.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The building is associated with well known architects Kent, Budden & Greenwell who designed many early warehouses and commercial buildings in Sydney.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	Has aesthetic significance locally as a a fine example of a late Federation warehouse and factory which is, highly prominent in the streetscape of this part of the city. The use of pale face brick externally is unusual.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	IA locally rare example of a late Federation warehouse.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	Represeniative example of a warehouse
Integrity/Intactness:	Externally - moderate to high
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:

General: The building should be retained and conserved. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement, or a Conservation Management Plan, should be prepared for the building prior to any major works being undertaken. All conservation, adaptive reuse and future development should be undertaken in accordance with the Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (The Burra Charter). Archival photographic recording, in accordance with Heritage Council guidelines, should be undertaken before major changes. The Griffith's Building should be conserved largely in its existing form and scale, with no vertical additions that would compromise the prominence of the integral parapet signage; a partial penthouse floor could be contemplated. Other uses for the building could be considered provided that these will not require the removal of significant fabric. Features of high significance should be conserved, and other fabric dealt with so that the form and appearance of the building are conserved. Surfaces never intended for painting such as face brick should remain unpainted, while surfaces such as timber which were originally painted should continue to be painted in appropriate colours. Exterior: The facades should be conserved largely in their existing appearance, especially the face brickwork, external painted signage and timber windows. Interior: The interiors could be subject to further alteration in the future (including resubdivision or removal of partitions) to assist the continuing use of the place, provided that surviving significant fabric (notably timber structure) is preserved.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	I1648	14 Dec 12
Heritage study

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written			Council BA records and Rate Books
Written			Sands' Directories
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City	View detail
Written	NBRS+Partners	2014	Conservation Management Plan Griffiths Teas Building 46-52 Wentworth Avenue
Written	Sydney Morning Herald	1912	Contracts
Written	Trevor Howells & Mark O'Donnell	1995	Survey of Warehouses & Woolstores within the City of Sydney

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

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2424319

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