Mary

Delighted to give you some background.

Department store is in Sydney, Australia.  It is the second of two flagship
stores for a company called David Jones.  Both are about to undergo a major
(A$175 million) refurbishment over the next two years.  Facade is poor
relation, and getting just enough to keep it in acceptable condition -
fortunately it is in reasonably good condition, so there is not a lot of
work.  Total budget for conservation works is only a proportion of the
total - majority is for new services and totally new retail fitout.
Internally there are lots of remnants of historic fabric which are to be
conserved - conservation architect is working almost full time at this
stage!

The saddest thing is that the escalators are original, and have those great
wooden steps.  Unfortunately, they are being removed.  Not without a fight,
but they are unsafe, and attempts to repair them have been unsuccessful ...
spare parts just cannot be obtained.

The fun thing is that the stores are going to continue to trade throughout
the refurbishment.

Now, more background.  The first store was built in 1930 or thereabouts.
Nine storey steel framed building with concrete slab floors.  Facade is
sandstone, with timber double hung sash windows.  Nothing too fancy.  It has
a copper clad awning around the three street frontages.  The display windows
at ground level (are huge) and have copper and brass frames and decorative
mouldings.  A bit knocked around, and have been refinished so that we are
arguing over the original finish.  I say (with advice from others) most
likely to have been a high polish.  Conservation architect thinks it was
some sort of decorative patterned finish ... I think this came later and was
an inadvertent artefact of the weathering of a clear lacquer or similar!

The second store was started in 1938, when nine storeys of lift core and
five storeys of store were built.  These had the anodised aluminium display
windows and double hung sash aluminium windows to the higher floors.
Building magazines of the time reported the use as innovative (and is the
source for the original use).  Awning is aluminium clad (also original).
Was reading something in latest APT Bulletin about aluminium siding, and
suspect that awning soffit is done in something very similar.  Shop fronts
are definitely aluminium, and my diagnosis is anodised ... based on the way
the finish degrades when we pare / rub back.  The colour is absolutely
gorgeous - just wish we could go back to it!

One of the reasons that the second store is significant is in fact the use
of aluminium windows!!

[Thanks for the suggestion about Jester - have already read the book several
times looking for inspiration, along with everything that Susan Macdonald
(ex-English Heritage, now NSW Heritage Office) has on 20th Century materials
in her library.]

Will try and organise pictures for Pighabit-L some time in the next couple
of weeks.

Incidentally, these two stores are two of four buildings from around that
era remaining along the one street in Sydney.  Other two have already been
refurbed - one remains as a shell and little more (wasn't involved in that
one).

The other hadn't been touched until two years ago.  Bit of a cheap
refurbishment, but still interesting.  Also built in 1929-1930 - this one
had steel windows ... which had not been painted since erection, yet had not
corroded other than in a few minor locations.  Amazing.  Sandstone was in
poorer condition though ... we replaced one whole course, and indented the
full length of one projecting course.  Yes, I worked on that one too, along
with the same conservation architect.  Guess that is beginning to make us
something like experts on 1930s department stores, at least in this part of
the world.  Pity that there are no more to do!!!

Cheers

david