Buildings/cliffst.html
[[index.html|
]]
Cliff Street Chambers
Town Lots 21, 22; 22-32 Cliff Street. The 1896 building was designed, as 'Cliff Street Chambers', by architect Herbert Nathaniel Davis, who moved his studio into it in that year. It is now known as the McDonald Smith Building, as that is the name on the facade. Lots 21 and 22 have had various owners, including Henry Vincent, James Lilly, and Tompkins and Co. The Vincent Family rented a cottage and warehouse on the site in the 1870s and 1880s. The buildings were acquired by Captain Lilly for a time, and it was owned by J.E. McDonald and Smith from 1961 until the 1970s and then Tompkins and Company took it over as their general store.
Streets of Freo (edited):
The McDonald Smith Building is built across two lots, the first owner of both being Rottnest superindentent Henry Vincent. Lot 21 was transferred to Stockley 1855-59. A cottage and warehouse were established on Lot 21 from the 1870s.
Lot 22 was retained by Vincent. Both lots were then owned by William Vincent 1876-79.
Heritage Council (City of Fremantle):
History:
A cottage and warehouse were established on the lot from the 1870s. There are relics of a former limewashed and shingled house at the rear of this building. There were building applications for minor changes to the warehouse in 1961, 1962 and 1973.
Currently (2013), various businesses.
Physical Description
McDonald Smith Building is a two storey rendered building with a zero setback from the pavement. The building has a parapet with spheres crowning small-engaged pilasters and simply decorative pediments. The ground floor façade has arched doors and windows, with stucco above and a single level entrance on the south side; the first floor has sash windows. There is an old corrugated iron shed to the rear of the building.
References and Links
streetsoffreo page, with a list of tenants.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 9 December, 2021 and hosted at freotopia.org/buildings/cliffst.html (it was last updated on 26 March, 2024). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.