Pran Central is a
heritage-listed seven storey
Edwardian baroque architectural style
An architectural style is a classification of buildings (and nonbuilding structures) based on a set of characteristics and features, including overall appearance, arrangement of the components, method of construction, building materials used, for ...
former department store, built in 1915 as Read’s Store, comprising a shopping centre with apartments above. The building is located on the corner of
Chapel Street and Commercial Road in the well-known retail precinct of
Prahran
Prahran ( , also colloquially or ), is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a population ...
, a suburb in the city of
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.
The shopping centre occupies the lower ground, ground floor and first floor mezzanine, with approximately 30 specialty stores along with a food court.
History
The 1915 seven-storey building is notable for its Edwardian baroque architecture, parapets and dual domes.
The
National Trust of Australia (Victoria) has listed the building as being of regional architectural, historical and social importance.
[
The site was initially developed in 1886 by Jacob Read as a drapery business; the Charles Moore and Company took over the business in 1903. Read had established a successful men’s clothing firm in the 1870s which had become one of Chapel Street’s largest businesses, lending its name to ‘Read’s corner’. Moore specialised in ladies fashions, some of which were made in the shop’s workroom. Moore retained the old name but expanded the business and built the current large building in 1915; designed by Sydney Smith & Ogg, only the north half was completed.]Precision Group
Precision Group is an Australian private property Investment company, investment and management company based in Sydney. Founded in 1994 by Shaun Bonétt, it owns property in Australia and New Zealand.
History
Precision Group was founded in 1994 ...
, from Lang Walker for $34.5 million.
Gallery
Reads emporium.jpg, The façade
A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face".
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...
of the building, pictured in 2006.
File:Pran-central-shopping-centre-06.jpg, The food court
File:Pran-central-shopping-centre-08.jpg, The retail mall
File:Pran-central-shopping-centre-22.jpg, The mezzanine level
File:Pran-central-shopping-centre-19.jpg, Thel Kaya Health Club located within the building
See also
* Charles Moore and Co.
References
External links
*
* {{cite AV media , author=Beyer, Emil , url=http://www.picturevictoria.vic.gov.au/site/stonnington/miscellaneous/13045.html , title=Prahran Hotel and Read's first store , date=1905 , publisher=Government of Victoria
The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the Executive (government), executive government of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria.
As a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutiona ...
, work=Picture Victoria , format=image
Shopping centres in Melbourne
Buildings and structures completed in 1886
1886 establishments in Australia
Buildings and structures in the City of Stonnington