NEW CITY BUILDING.

Evening Star, Issue 6808, 23 January 1886, Page 2

NEW CITY BUILDING.

A new building is about to be erected in the business part of the City which will be both an ornament to the place and a credit to the Company which is instrumental in putting it up. This is the Australian Mutual Provident Society, and the site is the block of land at the corner of Dowling and Princes streets, now covered with several buildings. The new structure will measure 82ft Oin square, and will have a frontage to both streets—extending in Dowling street as far as Samson's auction rooms, and in Princes street down to Wilkinson and Co.'s shop. It will be of four storeys, with cellarage in a basement floor, and the height from ground to parapet will be 70ft, or somewhat higher than the Grand Hotel. Mr Boldini is the architect whose plans have been adopted, and they show that the outcome will be a remarkably handsome and effective-looking building. The style is Italian renaissance, which permits the introduction of some very delicate and attractive work. The ground-floor will be of Milestone, and the upper storeys of Oamaru stone. On the Princes street side of the former will be two shops having each 20ft frontage; while one of them will have the full depth of the block (80ft inside measurement), and the other half that depth. At the corner of the two streets will be the main entrance to the offices of the Company, which will occupy a large portion of this floor. At the Dowling street side there will be a third entrance to the building and also a dray entrance leading to a loading yard in the back of the block. The rooms on the ground floor will have a height of 18ft ; those on the first floor 15ft; second floor 14ft; and top storey 12ft. Tho greater part of the building, including the whole of the upper storeys, will be laid off as offices, and the floors of these will be of concrete, covered with boarding in order to obviate the chilliness inherent to bare concrete floors. Access to the upper storeys will be gained by means of a lift, which will be under the eonstantcareof aspecialattcndant; and a system of speaking tubes from the Princes street entrance to every office is to be provided, enabling a caller to ascertain if the party he wishes to see is within or not, and thereby saving time and inconvenience. Roverting to the plan of the exterior, we find that the windows on the first floor will be circular-headed; those on the second floor square, with handsome entablatures ; and those on the top floor circularheaded, resting on granite columns. The greater part of the parapet is balustraded, but the centre portion is panelled, and this part is to be surmounted with a marble group of figures representative of the emblem of the Company, and bearing beneath it the motto " Amicus certitx in re inccrla." Tenders for the work will be called for in about three weeks' time.