Buildings/falk.html
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Falk Building
The Falk Company building and warehouse, 1888/1896, is a large building complex on the corner of Phillimore and Henry Street which extends for some distance along both. The name CUSTOMS HOUSE still appears on the pediment, but the building was adapted for use as Federal Govt offices after the Customs people moved out. And since the Commonwealth has moved out, the building has been taken over (bought?) by Notre Dame University. On the current campus map (2/23) it is shown as divided into ND49 Gym (et al.) and ND50 Wellbeing Centre.
Heritage Council:
History:
There were simple buildings on the corner of Henry and Phillimore Streets from as early as 1880. It is only as a result of the reclamation work undertaken in the 1880s for the harbour and railway works that development of this site became possible, as previously it had been on the water's edge. The lot was owned by Harrod until 1896, when it was purchased by Gallop, and then to Lilly and Co. in 1898. It appears in the rates record as the property of James Lilly until c1909, but remained in the family as part of his estate until after 1940.
The Falk Building for P Falk & Co. was constructed in 1888, with additions designed and built by F. W. Burwell in 1896. In 1903, more substantial additions by the same architect were built. These additions wrap the corner and front on to both Henry and Phillimore Streets. Falk remained the tenant until 1905.
Commonwealth offices were built in 1985, but the façade of the Customs House was retained. Oldham Boas Ednie-Brown, architects, and Interstruct, builders, carried out the $13.7m project of redevelopment.
Currently (2002), commercial and office use.
Physical Description:
Two storey rendered prominent and corner building, with original façade only intact. A brick building has been built behind the façade, which has a zero setback from the pavement. The façade, which extends predominantly into Phillimore Street, has engaged pilasters and a parapet with two pediments.
Statement of Significance
The place is of historic significance as an example of a commercial building in the Old Port City of Fremantle dating from the gold boom period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The building is not highly intact and recent fabric is not significant. The facade is an essential component of the Old Port City streetscape. The place is of social significance as evidenced by its classification by the National Trust.
References and Links
Heritage Council page (as above).
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 8 February, 2023 and hosted at freotopia.org/buildings/falk.html (it was last updated on 30 March, 2024). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.