Row of Shops, 424-436 Hay St, Subiaco

Parent Place or Precinct

26003 Rokeby Road & Hay St Conservation Area

Physical Description

At the time of inspection, the façade was largely concealed by hoardings. The following has been taken directly from the physical description provided in the Heritage Assessment, Row of Shops, 424-436 Hay Street, Subiaco, 2021:
The place comprises a row of single-storey shops situated near the Rokeby Road junction with Hay Street in Subiaco. The shops retain their recessed entrance doors, and all have glass shopfront windows with copper-look frames, leadlight windows along the door and window tops, marble-look tiling applied to the foundations, and full-length mirrors in panels applied to each shop end.
The parapet above the shops comprises eight piers. There is an arched vent above the centre shop topped by a flat pediment with dentil mouldings. The pediments either side are arched. A canopy with bullnosed edging sits above the shops with anchors to the pediment. The front of the bullnose has been lined with vertical sheets of mini-orb corrugated iron.
To the rear of the shops are the associated [former] residences ….

History

On 10 May 1921 ownership of this property was transferred to “Louis Arnold Woolf of 1121 Hay Street West Perth accountant”.
Prior to 1922, Post Office Directories only refer to numbers 422, 426, 430 and 434. This is most likely in reference to the original residences set to the rear of the row of shops which date from c.1910s.
By 1922, numbers 424, 426, 428, 430, 432, 434 and 436 are all listed within the Post Office Directories. A Trove article from 1924 outlines the construction of the row of shops shortly after a workers strike in 1919. “Success attended their efforts and within six months they agreed to take in all members of the building trade and to launch out as a Building Co-op Society. Again success attended their effort, and they obtained in open competition, two large jobs – the alterations and additions, etc., to the old Cremorne Hotel,… and the erection of seven large shops for L. A. Woolfe, Esq., at the corner of Hay-street and Rokeby-road, Subiaco.”
The Building Co-Operative was short lived and went into liquidation after approximately 3 years of operation (The Leader, 1924).
The place is a good example of a group of ‘strip-shops’ with residences to the rear and/or above the shop premises, which was not uncommon in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however is now no longer practised in Western Australia.

Over time, some of the occupants have included:
424 Hay Street
 1922: Ennis and Smith, Auctioneers, Land and Estate Agents
 1925: Subiaco Dental Parlours
 1930: Edith Fry, dressmaker
 1935, 1949, 1945, 1949: Commercial Laundry (operated by at least 4 different proprietors through until the early 1950s)
426 Hay Street
 1922: August Roberts, electrical contractor
 1925: Joe Shephard, ‘The Ideal Tailor’
 1930: Ted Brown, Free Stores
 1935: C. Mullins & Co, Furniture Makers
 1940: Subiaco Furniture Mart
This was the last business identified for this address up to the mid-twentieth century. However, it is not clear if the shop remained vacant, or if it had been incorporated with one of the adjoining premises.
428 Hay Street
 1922: Cumming’s China Bazaar
 1925: Tea Rooms
 1930: Fruit Shop
 1935 & 1940: Subiaco Furniture Mart (c.1935-1940)
After a period of vacancy, the shop was adapted as a mixed business, which was operated by at least two different proprietors during the late 1940s.
430 Hay Street
 1922: Summers Drapery Store (430-432 Hay Street)
 1925: Carter’s Drapery Store (430-432 Hay Street)
 1930: Princess Billiard Saloon (430-432 Hay Street)
 1935, 1940, 1945 & 1949: Princess Billiard Saloon (432 Hay Street only)
432 Hay Street
 1922, 1925 & 1930 (see 430 Hay Street)
 1935, 1940, 1945 & 1949: Patrick John McKenney, hairdresser and tobacconist
434 Hay Street
 1922: Chatley’s Wicker Works
 1925 & 1930: Ebenezer (‘Ted’) Brown, Removalist, Carrier and Shipping Agent
 1935 & 1940: Steadfast Retreads, Motor Tyre Retreaders
 1945: Phil McCafferty, upholsterer
 1949: Daisy Florist
436 Hay Street
 1922, 1925, 1930, 1935: Confectionary Shop/Tea Rooms (operating under various proprietors)
 1940: R A Stratton, Radio Dealer
 1945: Shop not listed in the Post Office Directory
 1949: The Modern Store
The row of shops at 424-436 Hay Street was advertised for sale in 1944:
BRICK SHOPS AND DWELLINGS, Nos 424 and 436 HAY-ST. SUBIACO ….. Portion of Perth Suburban Lot 197. Certificate of Title Volume 940 Folio 194, having a frontage of 226.4 links to Hay-st by a depth of 178.5 links.
IMPROVEMENTS comprise six Brick Shops, billiard saloon and three Brick Dwellings at rear, each of 5 rooms, kitchen, vestibule and bathroom. These are let at weekly rentals which amount to £266/10/ per annum.
This property is situated in an old established shopping area with tram service passing and handy Subiaco Railway Station.
As there were originally seven shops and four residences, this suggests that the adaptation of the shop at 432 Hay Street as a billiards salon had extended the premises into the attached residence.
Extensive restoration works undertaken in the mid 1980s retained the essential character of the facades, and much of the traditional detailing. By this time most shopkeepers no longer chose to live in small residences attached to shops, and the retail floor space was expanded into the residential areas.
In 2021 concerns were raised about the physical condition of the building and demolition was proposed. In 2022 the place remains vacant, with hoardings erected across the street frontage.

Integrity/Authenticity

In the context of this report the information presented in the Heritage Assessment, Row of Shops, 424-436 Hay Street, Subiaco, 2021 indicates that the main façade has retained a high degree of authenticity, with the exception of the awning.
Major changes to the place over time have related primarily to internal alterations (including adaptation of the original residences for retail purposes).

Condition

At the time of inspection, views of the building from street were largely concealed by hoardings and scaffolding.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.