![Nicholas building 2021@0](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Nicholas_building_2021%400.5x.jpg)
The Nicholas Building is a landmark historic office and retail building located at 37 Swanston St, at the intersection of
Swanston Street
Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...
and
Flinders Lane
Flinders Lane is a minor street and thoroughfare in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The laneway runs east–west from Spring Street to Spencer Street in-between Flinders and Collins Streets. Originally laid ou ...
, in the
Melbourne central business district
The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city la ...
,
Victoria, Australia
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...
. Designed by architect
Harry Norris
Harry Norris (12 June 1888 – 15 December 1966) was an Australian architect, one of the more prolific and successful in Melbourne in the interwar period, best known for his 1930s Art Deco commercial work in the Melbourne CBD.
His designs were ...
and completed in 1926, it is the grandest example in Melbourne of what is known as the '
Chicago School' or 'Commercial Palazzo' style, featuring large scale classical elements. It has long housed a range of small businesses, and is now known for its
creative industry tenants such as fashion designers and artists and specialist retailers. It had the longest operating manual lifts in the city, and the ground floor
Cathedral Arcade is one of the most notable arcades in the city.
While the building structure itself is protected, it does not prevent the change of its use. The building was placed on the market in June 2021. This has led th
Nicholas Building Associationto campaign to raise funds in order to rescue the current use of the building as a creative hub from commercial development.
As a result, some artists in the community have raised awareness that the lack of protection for the use of buildings can have adverse effects in protecting heritage:
"However, usage is rarely safeguarded - heritage protection is mainly concerned about the look of a building. And mainly concerned about how it looks from the street. Interiors are mostly disregarded unless there's some aspect about it that has gathered some public fame. In other words, heritage protection is superficial at best and fairly ineffective in protecting what is worth protecting. Safeguarding a city entails much more than protecting the 'decorative' features of a façade."
History
The Nicholas family, headed by
Alfred Nicholas
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interlu ...
, built their fortune on the production of Aspro, a replacement for the German-made
aspirin
Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...
when it became unavailable during World War I. The Nicholas company never occupied the building; it was instead built as a speculative office building development. It was completed in 1926, and designed by architect Harry Norris. Norris established his architecture practice in the building, remaining until his retirement in the mid-fifties. From 1926 to 1967 a
Coles department store occupied the basement and part of the ground floor. The building was home to businesses associated with the
Flinders Lane
Flinders Lane is a minor street and thoroughfare in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The laneway runs east–west from Spring Street to Spencer Street in-between Flinders and Collins Streets. Originally laid ou ...
garment trade, commercial artists, medical practitioners and architects. By the 2010s the small rooms and relatively cheap rent attracted creative industry practitioners and specialist retailers, some of whom still serve the fashion industry, and it became renowned as one of Melbourne's 'vertical lanes'.
The novel ''
Shantaram'', written by one of Australia's most wanted fugitives
Gregory David Roberts
Gregory David Roberts (born Gregory John Peter Smith; 1952) is an Australian author best known for his novel ''Shantaram (novel), Shantaram''. He is a former opioid use disorder, heroin addict and convicted bank robber who escaped from Pentrid ...
, was written in the building.
In 2003, a stencil, believed by UK artist
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams ...
, was painted on the building, on the corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Lane. A piece of plastic was put up over the work to protect it from the elements but it was later painted over by city council workers, upsetting the art community.
Before undergoing modernisation in 2012, the Nicholas Building was home to the last manually operated
lift
Lift or LIFT may refer to:
Physical devices
* Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods
** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop
** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...
in Melbourne.
The building is listed by the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
and on
Heritage Victoria
Heritage Victoria is a Victorian State Government agency responsible for administering the ''Heritage Act 1995'' and supporting the work of the Heritage Council of Victoria.
Heritage Victoria was formed from the earlier Historic Buildings Prese ...
.
Architecture
![CathredalArcade 9943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/CathredalArcade_9943.jpg)
The Nicholas Building was built in a time of imposed height restrictions that lasted from 1916 to 1957 and stated a limit of 132 ft (40.3 m). It consists of 10 floors and is influenced by the Chicago style evident in Melbourne at the time. It has a terracotta faience façade which was designed to self-clean; the grey terracotta manufactured as ‘Granitex’ by Wunderlich was used due to its durability and ease of maintenance. The exterior has a variety of Classical Revival features, such as giant order ionic pilasters to divide the upper façade into bays and Doric columns defining the lower section.
A steel frame structure was used for the first three floors with reinforced concrete on the upper floors. The offices above the first floor was planned around a light well, many now used as studio spaces.
In popular culture
The building is referenced in the song "Elevator Operator" on Australian musician
Courtney Barnett
Courtney Melba Barnett (born 3 November 1987) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for her deadpan singing style and witty, rambling lyrics, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP ''I've Got a Friend Calle ...
's 2015 album ''
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
''Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit'' is the debut studio album by Australian indie rock musician Courtney Barnett, released on 20 March 2015. The album received wide acclaim and was ranked as one of the best albums of 2015 by ...
''.
See also
*
Cathedral Arcade
*
Burnham Beeches
*
Architecture of Melbourne
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas Building
Buildings and structures completed in 1926
Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne
Harry Norris buildings
1926 establishments in Australia
Chicago school architecture in Australia
Buildings and structures in Melbourne City Centre