28 May 2024

The facades of Ball & Welch and the Commercial Travellers Club on Flinders Street look much nicer than before, but the new bits not so much. And ‘restored’ is not accurate, but they look mostly as they did in the photo from c1910.

Ball & Welch was built in 1899 as a #departmentstore, designed by #ReedTappinandSmart, while the #queenanne red brick Romanesque part was built as the #CommercialTravellersAssiciation in 1898, designed by #TompkinsandTompkins. Both are early examples of #RomanesqueRevival, with those tall arches, though the CTA is perhaps more English while B&W more American. The CTA had floors added early on, then when they moved down Flinders Street in 1913, B&W expanded into the space. The store closed in 1976, becoming an unsuccessful shopping centre, then in 1990 it was reduced to a facade with a big carpark behind, with offices in front (which involved new floor levels), and taking off the cornice and building a plainer one two floors higher. They also added two bays to the right, and a pomo section, where the Chelsea / Majestic cinema once stood.

The recent changes replaced the top few floors of parking with offices, added two more, and took off the extra bays. They put the cornices back where they were, with the rather smart device of the B&W sign having space around it for windows. They accurately reproduced a lot of detail, which is nice, but the floor levels were not restored. The extra floors in black glass are ok but a bit heavy. I’m most annoyed about the bit on the right, which now sticks up, interrupting a streetscape that was all similar height. The architects were @aboutsjb, and it was completed in 2020.

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