Nahum Barnet
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Nahum Barnet (16 August 1855 – 1 September 1931) was an architect working in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...
during the
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
and
Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
periods, best known for his extensive legacy of commercial buildings in Melbourne's CBD, as well as his last design, the ''Melbourne Synagogue''. Barnet was born in the Melbourne Hospital on
Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically bisects Melbourne's city centre and is famous as the wor ...
, the son of newly arrived Isaac Barnet, a Polish-born pawnbroker, tobacconist, and later a noted jeweller. Isaac was an active member of Melbourne's
Jewish community Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
throughout his life, as well as civic affairs, becoming a Councillor in the
City of Collingwood The City of Collingwood was a local government area about east-northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1855 until 1994. History Collingwood was first incorporated as a ...
in 1879.Miles Lewis
Nahum Barnet
at
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
, access date Jan. 2010.
Nahum Barnet began practicing as an architect in 1879, and was an early advocate of red brick and
terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
, then gaining popularity in England, rather than the ubiquitous stucco or stone. By the late 1880s he had produced some major works, including ''Rosaville'', an unusual and highly elaborate two storey terrace in Carlton, the Renaissance Revival style ''
Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...
'' (1886), as well as the ''Moss White & Co Tobacco Warehouse'' (1888) and the '' Austral Building'' (1891) in Collins Street, amongst the first to introduce the red brick Queen Anne style to the city's streetscapes. Barnet was active in Jewish life like his father; in 1882 he was elected secretary of the Anglo-Jewish Association, and was honorary architect to the Jewish Philanthropic Society, doing work at the Jewish almshouses (later the Montefiore homes). He was to develop an extensive Jewish clientele, designing many houses and a number of tobacco warehouses and factories, and his first major commission, ''Rosaville'' in Carlton, was for Abraham Harris, a prominent member of the Jewish Community. Unlike some other boom era architects, he weathered the economic crash of the 1890s, and became one of the most prolific commercial architects in Melbourne in the
Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
era after 1900. He designed at least 32 offices, shops, warehouses and theatres in the central city between 1900 and 1925, ending up with various of his designs near each other. For instance the 1891 ''Austral Building'' in Collins Street was a few doors up from his 1905 surgery for Dr Barrett at no 127, the 1913 ''YWCA'' was just around the corner in Russell Street, the 1913 ''Auditorium Building'' is half a block further down Collins Street, and ''Clyde House,'' also 1913, is across the street from that. Notable works after 1900 include a series of designs that were variations on the local version of the
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
, combined with elements of the Queen Anne, characterised by the use of red brick and arches, often with projecting bays; examples include ''Mason, Firth & McCutcheon Printers'' in Bank Place, ''Love & Lewis'' in Bourke Street, and the ''Auditorium Building,'' which included a concert hall at ground level. Barnet embellished some of his essays in this style with Art Nouveau details, relatively rare in Melbourne, including ''
Alston's Corner Altson's Corner is a heritage listed Edwardian building located on the corner of Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, Elizabeth Street and Collins Street, Melbourne, Collins St in Central business district, CBD of Melbourne, Australia, built for tobacconi ...
'', the ''Paton Building,'' though most decorative elements were flowing floral designs. The striking ''Young Women's Christian Association'' clubrooms in Russell Street (demolished) was more eclectic, combining red brick, projecting squat turrets and a high stylised parapet. In this period he also designed in other styles, including the Arts & Crafts influenced ''Florida Mansions'' in St Kilda Road, an early block of flats (demolished), the
Edwardian Baroque Edwardian architecture usually refers to a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular for public buildings in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to 1914 is commonly included in this style. It can al ...
of the ''Empire Arcade'' and ''Wertheims'', and stylised Gothic of ''Francis & Co''. His last work was the Baroque Revival ''Melbourne Synagogue'' (1929) in
South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...
. The claim that there 'was not a street in the
Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (colloquially known as "the City" or "the CBD", and gazetted simply as Melbourne) is the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of the 2021 census, the CBD had a population of 54,941, and is ...
where a Barnet building could not be found' was coined by his friend Isaac Selby and reiterated in Barnet's obituary in '' The Argus'' in 1931. The obituary relates that when challenged with the street "Carpentaria Place" (a short street opposite the Windsor Hotel, now pedestrianised), the reply was "You are wrong. You have overlooked the cabman's shelter." Barnet had designed this in 1898, and it still exists, though relocated to Yarra Park along Brunton Avenue some time in the interwar years. In 1885 Barnet married Ada Rose Marks in the Great Synagogue, Sydney; they had four daughters and from the mid-1890s lived next door to his parents in Alma Road St Kilda. He died at home in St Kilda on 1 September 1931.


List of works

1883 Rosaville, 46 Drummond Street, Carlton 1886
Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...
, 199-227 Exhibition Street, Melbourne 1887 Working Mens College (1st stage), 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne (with Terry & Oakden) 1888 Fergus & Mitchell Warehouse (later Robur Tea), 28 Clarendon Street, Southbank (with engineer John Granger) 1888 Moss White & Co Tobacco Warehouse (later Gill Memorial Home), 217-219 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne 1889 Liverpool (large house), 36 Princes Street, St Kilda 1891 Austral Building, 115-119 Collins Street, Melbourne 1892 Rosenthal Aronson & Co (later Slatters), 275-277 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne 1893 Clarkes Building, 275-281 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne 1897 Heimath, Lansell Road, Toorak 1898 Cabman's Shelter, Carpentaria Street, City (now in Yarra Park, Jolimont) 1900 Bernard's Swiss Portrait Studio, 323-5 Bourke Street Melbourne (demolished 1923) 1901 Wm Cameron Brothers Tobacco Warehouse, 435-447 Swanston Street, Melbourne (demolished 1970s) 1902 Chinese Mission Church, 119-125 Little Bourke Street 1902 Melbourne Sports Depot, 55-57 Elizabeth Street (2 floors added in 1925) 1902 Clauscen's Furnishing Arcade (later Love & Lewis), 194-196 Bourke Street Melbourne (demolished 1970s) 1903 St Kilda Synagogue (new front), Charnwood Grove, St Kilda (demolished c1930) 1903 Wertheim showrooms and offices, 294-296 Bourke Street (demolished 1932) 1903 Alcock & Co, 155-157 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne (demolished 1930s) 1903 Mason, Firth & McCutcheon Printers, 11-19 Bank Place, Melbourne 1904
Altson's Corner Altson's Corner is a heritage listed Edwardian building located on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Collins St in CBD of Melbourne, Australia, built for tobacconist Richard Altson in 1904, and extended in 1914. History There is a plaque on ...
, ne corner of Collins and Elizabeth Streets, Melbourne 1905 Paton Building, 115-117 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne 1905 Empire Arcade, 290 Flinders Street, Melbourne 1905 Dr Barrett's Chambers, 103 Collins Street Melbourne (demolished 1988) 1905c House and surgery for Dr Barrett, 127 Collins Street (demolished 1930s) 1906 St Kilda Sea Baths, St Kilda beach (destroyed by fire 1926) 1907 Armstrong House, 217-219 Queen Street, Melbourne 1909
Wertheim Piano Wertheim is an Australian brand of pianos, formerly produced in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Around 18,000 upright pianos were made in Melbourne between 1908 and 1935. They were designed for the south-eastern Australian climate an ...
Factory (later
GTV-9 GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. GTV-9 is the home of the Australian Open tennis coverage. History GTV-9 was ...
), Bendigo Street
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
1909 Aberdeen House, ne corner of Collins and King Streets, Melbourne (demolished 1989) 1909 Barnet Glass Rubber Co., 289-299 Swanston Street, Melbourne (later doubled in width and a floor added, and details removed, now Legacy House) 1911 London Hotel, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne 1911 The Kalazoic (Church Brothers P/L), 238 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne (demolished 1970s) 1911-12 Melba and Britannia Theatres, 283-289 Bourke Street, Melbourne (demolished 1970s) 1911c Zerchos College, 157 Collins Street, Melbourne (demolished 1980s) 1911c Norman Bros, 60-62 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne (demolished 1970s) 1912 Display Block, 313-315 Little Collins Street, Melbourne 1912 Majestic Theatre, 172 Flinders Street Melbourne (with Klingender & Alsop, demolished 1980s) 1913 Auditorium Building, 167-173 Collins Street, Melbourne 1913 Francis & Co Chemist, 280-282 Bourke Street, Melbourne 1913 Young Women's Christian Association, Russell Street, Melbourne (demolished 1970s) 1913 Connibere Grieve and Connibere, (later Reliance House), 301-311 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 1914 Elizabeth House, nw corner Elizabeth & Little Collins Streets, Melbourne (with Grainger & Little architects, demolished 1930s) 1915 Clyde House, 182 Collins Street, Melbourne 1916 Florida Mansions, 601 St Kilda Road, Melbourne (demolished 1982) 1919 Cann's Department Store, 135-137 Swanston Street, corner Little Collins Streets. Four floors added 1935. 1922 Swanston House, 163 Swanston Street, Melbourne 1925 CML Building, 499 Dean Street,
Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...
, NSW 1925 Lancashire House (for J. & B. Sniders), 36-50 Flinders Lane, Melbourne (demolished 1970s) 1929 Melbourne Synagogue, Toorak Road,
South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...
.


Gallery

File:Rosaville, Carlton in 2019.jpg, Rosaville, Carlton, 1883 File:Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne.jpg, Her Majetsy's Theatre, 1886 File:Austral Building Collins Street.jpg, Austral Building, 1891 File:Alstons Corner Collins Street.jpg, Altson's Corner, 1904 File:Empire building flinders street melbourne.jpg, The Empire Building, 1905 File:St kilda sea baths c1910 SLV.jpg, St Kilda Sea Baths, 1906 File:Wertheim Factory, Richmond.jpg, Wertheim Factory Richmond, 1909 File:Zerchos College c1970.jpg, Zerchos College, 1911 File:1930s gothic facade on bourke street mall melbourne.jpg, Francis & Co, 1913 File:Auditorium Building, Collins Street.jpg, Auditorium Building, 1913 File:YWCA Building Russell Street 1915.jpg, YWCA Russell Street, 1913 File:Clyde House, Collins Street.jpg, Clyde House, 1915 File:CML Building, Albury NSW.jpg, CML Building, Albury, 1925 File:Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue.jpg, Melbourne Synagogue, 1929


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnet, Nahum 1855 births 1931 deaths Australian Jews Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Architects from Melbourne Art Nouveau architecture in Melbourne Jewish architects