former Glenelg Fire Station

Here are a few pictures of the former Glenelg Fire Station.

Certainly to take my mind, and perhaps your's, off the events of yesterday at the MCG. Congratulations to Collingwood they were the better team by far but that doesn't mean that I have to think any more about it.

So back to Adelaide ... Gordon St, Glenelg to be exact.

When I took these photos a few years ago, it was the Glenelg Fine Art Gallery and I believe it still is. As far as I can tell they do not have a website and in fact I can find very few references to the building at all on the web.

Still it is a beautiful little fire station designed with some flair yet fulfilling the functional requirements of the Fire Brigade.

Last Ditch Effort to Save Glenelg Cinema

The Adelaide Chapter of the Art Deco Society are making a last ditch effort to save the former Wallis Cinema in Glenelg.

As reported in the Guardian Newspaper today, they have already collected over 1100 signatures and are trying to have the building listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.

Convenor of the Adelaide Chapter, David O'Loughlin, says the cinema is incorrectly recorded as being built in 1956 in a Holdfast Bay Council heritage review undermining the historical importance of the building. The cinema was actually designed in 1936 by F Kenneth Milne.

For more information you can visit the Adelaide Chapter Facebook page or go directly to the online petition and add your name Save the Glenelg.

Wallis Cinema, Glenelg

The Glenelg Wallis Cinema closed on Sunday 1st February 2009 with a free showing of Gone with the Wind.

The 1937 cinema was designed by Kenneth Milne and in 1971, then called the Ozone, it was purchased by the Wallis family.

Patronage had dropped off since a 30-screen megaplex had been opened at nearby Marion in 1996 eventually making it no longer viable to operate.

A blog post by the Adelaide Chapter of the Art Deco Society around the time the cinema closed indicates it would be incoporated as retail space in a re-developed shopping centre.

References:
Glenelg Cinema Exits the Stage, Guardian Messenger, 29 Jan 2009
More bad/good news, Adelaide Chapter Journal, Art Deco Society, 24 Jan 2009

Grundy's Shoes, Glenelg

This matching pair of art deco shops are in jetty Road, Glenelg.

As we look at them, Judd's the more colorful of the two is on the left and Grundy's Shoes is on the right.

I think the two-tone decoration of Grundy's works better that the multi-colour detailing on Judd's.

Sue Dalmeyer, Glenelg

This fantastic corner shop is in Jetty Road, Glenelg. It is probably two buildings but the colour scheme and the deco motifs on the verandah face bring them together to great effect.

I love the corner. The window is cut into the curved face of the wall with a shallow eyebrow above it. The number certainly adds style and you wouldn't have any difficulty finding No 97.

Front on, the shop takes on an Egyptian feel with the two round columns flankng the doorway and continuing through verandah to the second storey. It is the decoartive element between the columns on this level which seems Egyptian to me.

This view also shows how the dark blue (which also reminds me of Egypt) has been used to highlight the decorative elements and tie the parts of the building together.

Trevu Flats, Glenelg

To be honest, the Trevu Flats in the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg is not the most spectacular building around, but what attracted my attention is the two staircases curving in the same direction. This configuration was probably forced onto the builder/architect because the block abuts the back of another property so there wasn’t the space to allow the staircases to go in opposite directions but it may well have been conceived that way in the first place. In any case I think it looks great and lifts the building to be something special.

Besides the staircases, the Trevu Flats have several Art Deco features. The name of the building is spelt out in stylish lettering on the front of the building between the ground and first floor balconies. Those balconies are enclosed by matching canvas blinds which preserves the integrity of the original structure while providing shade and privacy for the residents.

The flats are made of red brick with a horizontal cream band running around the building between the two floors. The lintels above the windows are similarly painted cream and work well against the green window frames. The tiled hip roof, for me, lets the building down. I feel it would be a more striking building with a flat roof.

The garden is surrounded by a low stepped red brick wall which is mirrored in the small concrete balcony on the side of the building.

Even now, looking at these photos, my eyes return to the steps. Whether they are an elegant solution to a physical limitation or a stylish flourish on the part of the designer, they are beautiful.