2 High Street is a municipal building in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Scotland. Standing at the corner of

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

and

Tay Street Tay Street is a street, part of the A989, in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross. Planned in 1806 and completed around 1885, it is named for the River Tay, Scotland's longest river, on the western banks of which it sits. The street ru ...

, the building is currently the home of offices of

Perth and Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council () is the local authority for Perth and Kinross, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since 1999. It is based in Perth. History A district called Perth and Kinross was ...

, which also occupies the municipal buildings at 1 Tay Street directly opposite. The building is Category B listed.

History

The General Accident and Employers' Liability Assurance Association was founded in the city in 1885. Shortly after it was founded the directors decided to commission a purpose-built head office: the site they chose was occupied by a post office. The building was designed in 1899 by George Penrose Kennedy Young in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone and was completed in 1901. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the High Street with the end bays slightly projected forward; the central bay, which also slightly projected forward, featured an elaborate doorway with

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

columns capped by crouching figures supporting a carved

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and an open

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

with a

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

in the tympanum. On the ground floor, the bays flanking the central bay were fenestrated by large round headed windows and there were narrow casement windows beyond that. The first floor was fenestrated with square headed windows with

keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

and pediments while the second floor was fenestrated by recessed

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s flanked by short Ionic order columns. At roof level, in the northeast corner there was an

aedicule In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ''O ...

d drum surmounted by a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. Internally, the principal rooms were the general manager's office and the boardrooms which were all panelled with

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

. The building was extended along the High Street by ten extra bays to the west in a similar style in 1958. A number of older properties were demolished to facilitate the expansion: in the 19th century that part of the High Street had been occupied by a property which accommodated the Scoon and Perth Freemans' Lodge. The building was vacated by General Accident when it moved to a new head office at Necessity Brae in Pitheavlis in 1984. Later that year, the building became the headquarters of

when the council moved from the aging Municipal Buildings at Nos. 1, 3 and 5 High Street. Staff also moved from the County Offices in York Place. No. 2 High Street was extensively refurbished at a cost of £10 million in 2015; the works included the relocation of the council chamber from the top floor to the ground floor, as well provision of an energy-efficient external lighting system. Located close to the

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

, the building suffered severe flooding and was also hit by lightning in August 2020.

References

{{reflist

Government buildings completed in 1901 1901 establishments in Scotland High Street 2 Category B listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Listed government buildings in Scotland

History

See also

References