Pran Central is a
heritage-listed
This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...
seven storey
Edwardian baroque architectural style
An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...
former department store, built in 1915 as Read’s Store, comprising a shopping centre with apartments above. The building is located on the corner of
Chapel Street
Chapel Street is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, running along the inner suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, St Kilda and St Kilda East.
Route
Chapel Street is essentially straight and runs for over 4.14 kilometres along an approxim ...
and Commercial Road in the well-known retail precinct of
Prahran, a suburb in the city of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia.
The shopping centre occupies the lower ground, ground floor and first floor mezzanine, with approximately 30 specialty stores along with a food court.
History
The 1915 seven-storey building is notable for its Edwardian baroque architecture, parapets and dual domes.
The
National Trust of Australia (Victoria) has listed the building as being of regional architectural, historical and social importance.
[
The site was initially developed in 1886 by Jacob Read as a drapery business; the Charles Moore and Company took over the business in 1903. Read had established a successful men’s clothing firm in the 1870s which had become one of Chapel Street’s largest businesses, lending its name to ‘Read’s corner’. Moore specialised in ladies fashions, some of which were made in the shop’s workroom. Moore retained the old name but expanded the business and built the current large building in 1915 (although only the north half was completed).]Lang Walker
Walker Corporation is an Australian privately-owned property development company.
Most notably, Walker Corporation is responsible for the development and restoration of several significant Australian sites, including King Street Wharf, Finger W ...
acquired the property from Maurie Alter in 1999 for $22 million, and carried out a $60 million upgrade. The shopping centre was refurbished and the upper six floors converted from office space into luxury apartments, including two added floors under a curved roof.Precision Group
Precision Group is an Australian private property investment and management company based in Sydney. Founded in the 1990s by Shaun Bonétt, it owns property in Australia and New Zealand.
History
Precision Group was founded in 1994 by Shaun B ...
, from Lang Walker for $34.5 million.
Gallery
Reads emporium.jpg, The façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...
of the building, pictured in 2006.
File:Pran-central-shopping-centre-06.jpg, The food court
File:Pran-central-shopping-centre-08.jpg, The retail mall
File:Pran-central-shopping-centre-22.jpg, The mezzanine level
File:Pran-central-shopping-centre-19.jpg, Thel Kaya Health Club located within the building
See also
*Charles Moore and Co.
Charles Moore and Co. was a company based in Adelaide, South Australia which owned a number of department stores in three Australian states. It was founded by Irish-born businessman, Charles Moore ('' ca.'' 1858 – 30 September 1916). It ...
References
External links
*
* {{cite AV media , author=Beyer, Emil , url=http://www.picturevictoria.vic.gov.au/site/stonnington/miscellaneous/13045.html , title=Prahran Hotel and Read's first store , date=1905 , publisher=Government of Victoria
The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and ...
, work=Picture Victoria , format=image
Shopping centres in Melbourne
Buildings and structures completed in 1886
1886 establishments in Australia
Buildings and structures in the City of Stonnington