Rowes Building

General

Classification

State Heritage

Register status

Entered

Date entered

21 October 1992

Type

Retail, wholesale, services: Warehouse

Themes

3.8 Developing secondary and tertiary industries: Marketing, retailing and service industries

4.3 Working: Working in offices

Builder

Macfarlane, W

Construction period

1885, Rowes Building

Historical period

1870s–1890s Late 19th century

Location

Address

221 Adelaide Street, Brisbane City

LGA

Brisbane City Council

Coordinates

-27.46771499, 153.02675341

Significance

Criterion AThe place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland’s history.

The Rowes Building is significant as it demonstrates the principal characteristics of an 1880s commercial building with an elaborate facade.

The Rowes Building is significant as it exhibits aesthetic characteristics valued by the community, in particular, it has a fine, classically detailed facade. Its form, materials and scale make a strong contribution to the Edward Street streetscape.

Criterion DThe place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.

The Rowes Building is significant as it demonstrates the principal characteristics of an 1880s commercial building with an elaborate facade.

Criterion EThe place is important because of its aesthetic significance.

The Rowes Building is significant as it exhibits aesthetic characteristics valued by the community, in particular, it has a fine, classically detailed facade. Its form, materials and scale make a strong contribution to the Edward Street streetscape.

History

Rowes Building was erected in 1885 along with the adjacent Rothwells Building (QHR 600094). These buildings were erected together for their respective owners, Thomas MacDonald-Paterson and John Forsyth. MacDonald-Paterson was a solicitor and also served as Member of the Parliament. The buildings cost £13,000 to erect and the contractor for the project was W Macfarlane. The ground floor was designed to be used as offices while the other floors were intended for either offices or warehousing.

Macdonald-Paterson took an office in his half of the premises and leased the remaining floorspace.

In 1903 William Effy signed a ten year lease which covered the basement, ground floor and first floor balcony of the site. Effy, whose mother Minna Rowe had established the highly successful Rowes Cafe in Queen Street, continued the catering establishment at the new address and by 1909 the site contained a ground floor dining room with seating for 380 guests.

Effy purchased the building in 1914, and in 1925 he engaged architects Hall and Prentice to design major alterations and additions. The scheme, which cost £162,000, included the purchase of what was known as the City Garage, over which Rowes ballroom was built, and additional Adelaide Street frontage. The Adelaide Street building was demolished and a six storeyed building erected, the ground floor containing a shopping arcade with access to Rowes Cafe. The upper floors were divided into office accommodation. The T-shaped complex had its original frontage to Edward Street, but an increased depth to an approximate distance of 300 feet (91.5 m). Further alterations to the Edward Street facade were undertaken in late 1926.

In 1958 part of the original cafe was converted to an arcade of shops with extensions in 1961. Rowes passed into the ownership of National Mutual Life Association and a major redevelopment of the combined Rowes/Rothwells buildings took place in 1984.

Description

Rowes Building is a five storeyed masonry building with a basement. The classical detailing of the front facade contains individual classical variants common in late Victorian commercial buildings. Most of this ornamentation is executed in plaster.

The lower floors have wide arched openings with wide flanking columns topped by decorative capitals. The windows on the upper floors have arched architraves with keystones and are separated by engaged columns with elaborate capitals. At the parapet level there is a cornice supported by bracketing, and centrally above this is a narrow pediment bearing the name 'ROWES'. The lower level shopfront has also been refitted and a first floor balcony removed. The laneway elevation is a simplified version of the street facade, with round-headed windows in an articulated brick wall.

Internally the timber trusses have been left exposed on the upper level and the french doors with lead lights which opened onto the first floor balcony remain.

The building is similar in design to the adjacent Rothwells Building.

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