Hyde Buildings

Statement of Significance

• The place has aesthetic value as a good and intact example of the post war international style as practised in the suburbs of Perth. • The place has historic value for its association with the development of Bassendean in the post World War Two period when the population of the area grew and created retail demands. • The place has social value for the many members of the community who have used and visited these premises since the 1950s. • The place has historic value for its association with successful local builder, Harry Stanford Hyde.

Physical Description

Single storey commercial building of brick construction with a tiled hipped roof and parapet wall to the street facing façade. There is a combination of exposed, rendered and painted brick across the six shopfronts. Four of the shops entirely face Old Perth Road, one is on the corner gaining dual frontage and the last entirely faces James Street. The Old Perth Road shops, while varying in decorative elements and colours, all maintain a consistent rendered parapet with exposed brick fringe detail and a consistent awning with the height adjusting to match the slope of the road. They all display large aluminium framed glass frontages with the sizes and shapes varying from shop to shop. The James Street frontage displays exposed and painted red brick to the corner shop with a visible tiled roof and awning over the small window. The shop facing entirely onto James Street is a cream brick construction on a red brick plinth with a green metal edge detail concealing the roof line. It has large aluminium framed door and windows facing the street.

History

The Bassendean town centre was established and laid out as an extension of Guildford townsite in the 1840s but it was not until the 1890s that the town developed rapidly with the influx of workers during the gold boom period. The West Guildford Road Board was formed in 1901 which became the Bassendean Road Board in 1922, in recognition of one of the first farms in the district ‘Bassendean’ established by the First Colonial Secretary, Peter Broun. The town developed on either side of what was called the Perth Road and later, Guildford Road, which logically connected Perth to Guildford. This portion of the road name was changed to ‘Old Perth Road’ in the 1970s when Guildford Road was realigned. This group of shops were built c1950 by local builder Henry Hyde and Sons. Henry Staniford Hyde (c1887- 1968) was a local builder with an extended family of which many went into building trades. The firm continues today through subsequent generations. The HS Hyde business premises were located in James Street. During the period following World War Two there was considerable development in the region as in much of Western Australia. State Housing projects were bringing more people to the district and they needed new facilities including shops and services within walking distance of homes or the train.

Integrity/Authenticity

High Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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