Perth General Post Office

Parent Place or Precinct

04280 Forrest Place Area

Condition

A building in the Beaux-Arts style, with seven main storeys plus basement and roof level rooms. It has a concrete encased steel frame faced with brick and stone. The ground floor of the east elevation is faced with granite from Mahogany Creek with Donnybrook sandstone above. Paired ionic columns rise through three upper storeys. Red brick walls trimmed with stone are set back above the cornice, between stone towers and form the side and back walls. The interiors have large spans creating open spaces on each floor, which was a radical departure from traditional construction. The central two-storey postal hall has large rooflights which emphasise the sense of space. The design was conceived in 1912 by Commonwealth architect, John Smith Murdoch, in association with Hillson Beasley (Western Australian Public Works Department) with the initial contract signed in 1914 and another (after delays due to a steel embargo and a strike) in 1921 for an additional two storeys. By then W B Hardwick had succeeded Beasley. Construction was completed in 1923.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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