Did this one Saturday. Pissing down raining again today. Not great for photos but much needed. Gosford area dams are at 22%. Ouch.
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Art Deco (circa 1915 - c. 1940). Cement-rendered brick on a sandstone foundation. Built in 1938 for R.H. Creighton Funeral Directors.
One of my favourites in the Gosford area. Love the textures and shapes of it, the fins and the rectangular thingy up the middle and the rounded Deco corners and the wee balconies.
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The central fin and the rectangular thingy.
Before they were funeral directors the Creightons were carpenters and became undertakers in the 1880s apparently. They were in the area from around 1844 and the date on the ribbon says "Est[ablished] 1844".
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The building has sandstone foundations and a sandstone garage for the hearses attached. The fin motif has been carried across to the garage and the arches of the garage are wider versions of the entrance arch on the main building.
The building behind the garage appears to be a house or small block of flats. But a look at the Register of National Whatists reveals "The simple rectangular, brick building appears to date c[irca] 1950 and is believed to house preparation and storage areas". And there was I thinking the Creightons lived there.
As you can see, the building is for lease. It's on the Register of the National Estate (protected buildings & places) so it shouldn't be interfered with by it's new occupants.
From the Register:
"The use of such an exuberant and highly eclectic variation of the style, is rare for a funeral parlour...It is the only remaining Art Deco building in the main street of Gosford...It has considerable value for its contribution to the streetscape and civic precinct of Gosford...Its style, location and setting impart a landmark quality to the building".
It's certainly a landmark and I know I'm not the only one who loves having it on Mann Street.
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The Georgiana Terrace side. Notice the lovely rounded corner of the building. The windows and roof on the side veranda thingy were added around the 1950s.
And notice how steep the site is. Georgiana Terrace is a real goat track. Very good for conditioning the quads.
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The Register of National Whatsits also tells me the wee canvas hoods over these balconies (there's one the other side) are "a recent addition". They suit the place well.
Family historians will be pleased to know the Gosford Library has on microfiche the "R.H. Creighton Gosford Funeral Parlour Index and records 1909-1989". The Gosford District Local Studies Group appears to have copies as well.
If you're off to the old pioneer cemetery-cum-park on the tip of Longnose (Pt Frederick) have a gander at the graves. There's quite a few Creightons listed there.
Good and chilly today. I'm off to have a nice hot cuppa.
6 comments:
Creighton's reminds me of eating icecream in an airship - I love it!
The building, not the business, I hasten to add!
Napier, where I live, Is called the Art Deco city of New Zealand... "Creightons" is a wonderful example of art deco.
Device - Icecream in an airship? Sounds a delicious passtime. Very Gloria Swanson.
Kerry - Excellent. Got some pictures?
FYI, The building behind the garages is indeed a flat and did indeed house family members. The level below the flat was used as a 'trimming room' for coffins.The upper level of the main building was also the family home.
Back in 1980 I had occasion to visit the venerable old Funeral Home and remember the garage which held a number of pristine older model cars and found the staff most courteous in repatriating a case back to Sydney when I worked at Wood Coffills.
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