Heritage of the City of

BEEHIVE CORNER BUILDING

32-40 King William Street

This building occupies one of the most prominent sites in the city. Although the building is the second to occupy the site its design expressed splendidly the importance of its location on the .

The 'Beehive' had its origins in the 1840s and by at least 1849 the corner was widely known as Beehive Corner. Corner names such as Fitch's Corner and Moss' Corner played a significant role in the image-making of a particular locality in nineteenth century Adelaide. The South Australian Register of 3 October 1849 advertised a new drapery establishment 'the Beehive', and the building appears in a water-colour by S.T. Gill of 1848-49 and W. Wadham, c.1860.

The original Beehive housed many occupants, among them, Edmund Wright, architect, and the office of the newspaper the Adelaide Times. The building survived until the construction of the present Beehive Corner building in 1895-96.

English & Soward were probably the architects for the present Beehive building. They also designed the Tavistock buildings for Henry Martin, who developed the new Beehive buildings.

#B E AC 11# D :\P HMartin O TOwas an _Cabsentee D landlord \IM who, AG as far E as S can \IM G 0003 .P C D 7736 32813202 8991 85895 8991 85895 P B 4 0 14 23 231 361 0 be determined, never came to but instead left his affairs to be managed by capable agents in the colony.

Although the block is now sadly altered the detailing of elevations is of a complexity rarely seen in Adelaide. It is derived from the Gothic Revival although much has been reinterpreted and used in a fresh manner. The level of detailing and the existence of the corner turret and beehive is unusual and distinctive. Architecturally it is an extremely vigorous statement.

The integrity of the building has been compromised by ground floor redevelopment, the removal of gables on the western elevation, and the encasement of a facade to King William Street. Most of these unsympathetic changes were made during the 1960s when many historical features within the city were lost. The Beehive defines the (CD Ref 3202/3) entrance to Rundle Mall, complemented by the

 Corporation of the Heritage of the City of Adelaide

Waterhouse building opposite. # B EAC 1 1# D:\PH O TO _ C D \IM AG E S\IM G 0 02 8 .P C D 634 3 30 4 13 9 71 869 7 02 6 91 869 7 02 6 91 P B4 0 8 5 383 255 0 As such, the building has great streetscape significance to Rundle Mall and makes a notable if low scale architectural punctuation in King William Street.

ACC, Assessments 1889-1904, BSO, index, 1961, Digest of Proceedings, 1894-95, P. 93; Burgess, H.T., Cyclopedia of South Australia, 1909, Vol. 2, p. 276; MLSA, D6297 - (misc.), Historical photographs (Town (CD Ref 3971/28) Acre 46); Observer, 13 April 1895; South Australian Register, 3 October 1849, 4 January 1872.

#B E AC11 # D:\P H O TO _C D \IM AG E S \IM G 00 44 .P C D 77 36 328 13 20 2 89 91 858 95 89 91 858 95 P B4 0 42 24 35 5 21 8 0

(CD Ref 3202/44)

The text in this Information Sheet was copied from the Heritage of the City of Adelaide: An Illustrated Guide, (1996). The photographs contained in this Information Sheet are a selection of those held by Heritage Services, in digital format.

The property described in this Information Sheet is included in the Register of State Heritage places. A heritage listing does not mean or imply right of access by the public to such properties.

The heritage related Principles of Development Control as well as the Precinct specific objectives and Principles of Development Control are contained in the Adelaide (City) Development Plan. These should be referred to in whole when contemplating any development. Further information on the Heritage Incentives Scheme, an initiative of Council to sponsor timely and appropriate conservation action is available upon request of the Customer Service Centre.

 Corporation of the City of Adelaide Heritage of the City of Adelaide

Image scanned - not to stated scale. This Curtilage Map has been prepared as a guide only and no warranty or assurance is given about the accuracy of the content as it may contain obsolete information. The Corporation excludes all liability [including for negligence] in relation to your use of these documents.

 Corporation of the City of Adelaide Heritage of the City of Adelaide

 Corporation of the City of Adelaide