Heritage protected

By Sakshi Agrawal

The Port Phillip Council has endorsed the inclusion of the pair of shops and residences at 588-590 City Rd in the Montague Precinct into its planning scheme heritage overlay.

Heritage overlay means that for any future developments on a building, some aspects have to be retained.

The double-storey bluestone shop and residence is situated on the northern side of City Rd, between Montague St and Boundary St.

The history of this block dates back to the late 1800s when Sandridge Rd (former name of City Rd) extended from St Kilda Rd to the corner of Boundary Rd and Crockford St. On the north side of Sandridge Rd, many industries became established but the south side remained empty.

The two bluestone shops and residences were built in 1879 and later became 588-590 City Rd. They had joined a cohort of furniture dealers, architects, tailors, grocers, butchers, druggist and many more.

Context Pty Ltd, in its full heritage assessment, said the shopfronts had been remodelled, but the upper facade of both were intact – and this represented simple commercial facade of the pre-1880 period. The windows in number 590 have been replaced but in 588 the windows maybe original, with an addition of window hoods.

Today, the pair of shops and residences is one of the rare remaining examples of the commercial buildings as seen in the period of 1880s.