October 2021

This certainly stands out on #HighStreetArmadale. Says J Moran, est 1885, and that seems to be John Moran, licensed grocer and spirit merchant, who was fined in 1890 for selling liquor in less than 2 gallons, ‘the minimum under the licence’. Don’t think any relation to Moran & Cato since that Moran was not John. This one kept trading into the 1910s. I think this extravagant shop probably built 1890, otherwise it would have just said ‘1885’. Great stuff, all original, never painted, still with all its top knobs, I mean urns.

November 2025

Not the most sensitive development ever, but not so awful. From memory they wanted to demolish the house and shop despite being in the heritage precinct, but didn’t get their way. The house looks very nice now, all restored, and the shop too, which has a great shop window (update – the frames and tiles are new, perhaps because the floor level is higher, but still, sad to see original aged details disappear like that).

Not so noticeable looking from the east. But basically the great disjunction in scale is rather jarring, style too, though not sure that any kind of ‘matching’ would have been better. But maybe something more like a black box at the lower levels ? Anyway, we’ll get used to it. @bayleyward.architects.

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