Australian Mutual Provident Society head office, Sydney

Last updated

AMP Society Head Office
Photograph of the Australian Mutual Provident Society head office, Sydney, published in the Sydney Harbour Bridge opening programme, 19 March 1932.jpg
The AMP head office pictured in 1932.
Australian Mutual Provident Society head office, Sydney
General information
TypeOffice building
Architectural style Victorian mannerist (1878)
Federation Free Classical (1912)
Address87 Pitt Street
Town or city Sydney, New South Wales
CountryAustralia
Construction started1877; 1909
Completed1878; 1912
Opening1878; 1913
Demolished1962
Client Australian Mutual Provident Society
Height
Roof40.84 m (134.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count6
Design and construction
Architect(s) Mansfield Brothers (1878)
Ernest Alfred Scott (1912)
J. Kirkpatrick & Son (1918)
Main contractorAaron Loveridge & Hugh McMaster (1878)
F. E. Munro (1912/1918)

The Australian Mutual Provident Society Head Office was a landmark office building at 87 Pitt Street, bounded by Bond Street and Curtin Place in the central business district of Sydney. The first AMP head office building on this site was completed in 1878 and designed in the renaissance mannerist style by George Allen Mansfield. This building was substantially rebuilt and expanded in 1909–1912 in the Free Classical style by Ernest Alfred Scott. This building was the head office of the Australian Mutual Provident Society from 1878 until 1962, when the new AMP Building at Circular Quay was completed. The former head office building was demolished in September 1962 to make way for the landmark modernist Australia Square development by Lend Lease/Civil & Civic and designed by Harry Seidler.

Contents

History

The AMP Society building at 98 Pitt Street (1864-1878), designed by Reed and Barnes. A.M.P. Society Building, 98 Pitt Street, Sydney (circa 1871-1873).jpg
The AMP Society building at 98 Pitt Street (1864–1878), designed by Reed and Barnes.

Early premises, 1849–1878

When the Australian Mutual Provident Society commenced business in Sydney in the Colony of New South Wales in 1849, its first premises were located at 314 George Street. However, the growing business of the society meant that it changed premises multiple times in its early years. [1] In 1864, the AMP Society commissioned a new principal office on the eastern side of Pitt Street (No. 98), on a site that now contains Wales House, which was designed by Melbourne architects Reed and Barnes (supervised by Edmund Blacket). [2] The AMP 'Amicus' group that depicts "Australia receiving the Gifts of Peace and Plenty" atop this new building was sculpted in sandstone by Charles Summers. [3]

Mansfield building, 1878–1909

Lithograph of the 1878 AMP Head Office, designed by Mansfield Brothers, as published in The Bulletin. Australian Mutual Provident Society headquarters.jpg
Lithograph of the 1878 AMP Head Office, designed by Mansfield Brothers, as published in The Bulletin .

By 1875, the AMP Society board resolved to build a new larger head office on a site opposite the current offices at 87 Pitt Street, with designs in the Mannerist style prepared by Mansfield Brothers, and a tender for the construction of the basement and foundations from Aaron Loveridge was accepted in March 1875. [4] [5] [6]

The foundation stone of this new head office was laid on 23 January 1877 by the AMP Society chairman, John Smith, with the main building construction tender undertaken by Hugh McMaster. [7] The new building of three storeys and a basement had a façade built in sandstone quarried from Pyrmont and ironwork supplied by Mort's Dock and Engineering Company. [8] The building was completed in 1878 and the first meeting of the AMP Society members in the new head office was held on 30 September 1879. [9]

Extension and expansion, 1909–1918

The 1912 Amicus statue by William Priestly MacIntosh on top of the AMP Head Office. Amicus statue on top of the Australian Mutual Provident Society Head Office, Pitt Street, Sydney (c.1930).png
The 1912 Amicus statue by William Priestly MacIntosh on top of the AMP Head Office.

By 1909, the AMP Society found the current premises inadequate for its expanding business, and commissioned significant extensions to have six storeys above the street level and a full redesign of the existing premises on Pitt Street in a more restrained Free Classical style at a cost of £62,770. [10] [11] The president of the NSW Institute of Architects, Ernest Alfred Scott of Scott & Green, was the architect, and Finlay Elgin Munro was the master builder. [10] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] The old 'Amicus' sculptural group by Charles Summers was determined to be too small in scale for the new offices and "fell to pieces" when it was removed, so the AMP Board commissioned a new 'Amicus' group sculpted by William Priestly MacIntosh to be placed atop the renewed headquarters. [17] The new offices were completed in late 1912, and were officially opened by the Governor of New South Wales, Lord Chelmsford, on 21 January 1913. [18]

In order to accommodate future growth, AMP Society acquired adjoining sites to the south of the offices up to Little George Street (now known as Curtin Place), and commissioned further extensions in March 1916 designed in the same classical style by architects John Kirkpatrick & Son, who won the contract in a public competition. [19] The foundation for the extensions was laid by the AMP chairman, Sir Alfred Meeks, on 28 April 1917, and the construction was undertaken by Finlay Munro. [20] Completed in 1918, the extensions featured a circular corner facing the corner of Pitt and Little George streets. [21] [22] [23] These additions were savaged in Building , which noted that "it is a pity that such a graceful, correctly designed and handsomely executed facade should have tacked on to it as its most prominent feature such miserable substitute for architecture." [24]

Demolition

By the middle of the 20th century, the now-historic head office appeared outdated and insufficient to the needs of the AMP. In a 1938 profile of the building published in Construction it was praised as a "delightful composition...the embodiment of dignity and architectural grace" but that its days may be numbered: "These big companies are so frequently pulling their buildings down and re-building, it makes one wonder how long this one will last". [25] [26] In 1956, the AMP Society acquired a new site at Circular Quay fronting Alfred Street, and entered into negotiations for a new landmark modernist office tower to serve as the new head office, with a height that would breach the 150-foot height limit for buildings in the City of Sydney. Approval for the new AMP Building was granted in 1959, and the AMP offices moved to the new building on its completion in 1961–1962. [27] The AMP Society then sold the building and its land to developer Lend Lease, which was intending to demolish it and surrounding buildings for the Australia Square development. At this time an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, noted that the AMP Building was one of many sandstone landmarks in Sydney under threat as the fashion in architecture moved towards glass and steel away from stone. [28] The demolition of the former AMP Head Office was completed by late 1962, and the construction of Australia Square by Civil & Civic to a design by Harry Seidler commenced in December 1962. [29] [30] [31] [32]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitt Street</span> Street in Sydney, Australia

Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sections after a substantial stretch of it was removed to make way for Sydney's Central railway station. Pitt Street is well known for the pedestrian only retail centre of Pitt Street Mall, a section of the street which runs from King Street to Market Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMP Limited</span> Financial services company in Australia and New Zealand

AMP Limited is an Australian financial services company that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It offers superannuation and investment products, financial advice and banking services through AMP Banking, including home loans and savings accounts. AMP is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. The company previously operated a global investment management business through its subsidiary AMP Capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Sydney Boys High School</span> School in Australia

North Sydney Boys High School is a government-funded, single-sex, academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Crows Nest, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In 2023, North Sydney Boys High School sat as the first ranking high school in the state of NSW, based on the percentage of exams sat that achieved a Distinguished Achievers (DA), overtaking the first ranked James Ruse Agricultural High School, sending JRAHS to the second rank for the first time since 1996, and establishing itself as a contender to the previously established reign of James Ruse Agricultural High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia Square</span> Office, retail in Sydney

Australia Square Tower is an office and retail skyscraper in the Sydney central business district, Australia. Its main address is 264 George Street, and the square is bounded on the northern side by Bond Street, eastern side by Pitt Street and southern side by Curtin Place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Hordern</span> Australian businessman, animal breeder and philanthropist

Sir Samuel Hordern was an Australian businessman, animal breeder and philanthropist. Born into the prominent Sydney trading family, Hordern directed the family company of Anthony Hordern & Sons from 1909 to 1926.

Thomas Dwyer Bass, was a renowned Australian sculptor. Born in Lithgow, New South Wales, he studied at the Dattilo Rubbo Art School and the National Art School. Bass served in the Second Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War, rising to the rank of sergeant. He established the Tom Bass Sculpture School in Sydney in 1974. In 1988, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to sculpture. In 2009, he was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Visual Arts at the University of Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Post Office, Sydney</span> Historic building in Sydney, Australia

The General Post Office is a heritage-listed landmark building located in Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The original building was constructed in two stages beginning in 1866 and was designed under the guidance of Colonial Architect James Barnet. Composed primarily of local Sydney sandstone, mined in Pyrmont, the primary load-bearing northern façade has been described as "the finest example of the Victorian Italian Renaissance Style in NSW" and stretches 114 metres (374 ft) along Martin Place, making it one of the largest sandstone buildings in Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney County Council</span>

The Sydney County Council (SCC) was formed in 1935 to produce electricity and operate the electricity network in a number of municipalities in metropolitan Sydney. Unlike other New South Wales county councils, which were voluntary associations of local councils to undertake local government activities permitted or required of them by the Local Government Act 1919, Sydney County Council was established under a separate piece of legislation by the state government to perform the electricity distribution and streetlighting operations of the local government areas concerned. On its establishment it assumed control of the Electricity Department of the Sydney City Council, which was already supplying electricity to other municipalities. In 1952, the SCC lost most its electricity generation functions to the Electricity Commission of New South Wales and retained only its distribution functions. The SCC was merged with other municipal county councils in 1990 to form Sydney Electricity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre Royal Sydney</span> Theatre in Sydney, Australia

Theatre Royal Sydney (TRS) is a theatre in Sydney, Australia. Earlier theatres also called the Theatre Royal, on the same site, date back to 1833. The current building, designed by modernist architect Harry Seidler, was built in 1976 and has offered a broad range of entertainment since the 1990s. After being closed in 2016, the theatre reopened in December 2021 under parent company Trafalgar Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Vickery</span> Australian politician

Ebenezer Vickery was an Australian businessman, pastoralist and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Dixson</span> Australian businessman, collector and benefactor (1870–1952)

Sir William Dixson was an Australian businessman, collector and benefactor who bequeathed his collection of over 20,000 items of Australiana to the State Library of New South Wales, forming the Dixson Library. In recognition of his public benefactions, Dixson was knighted in the New Year Honours of 1939.

George Allen Mansfield was a prominent Australian architect of the nineteenth century who designed many iconic buildings in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

William Priestly MacIntosh was a sculptor in Sydney, Australia. His works often decorated significant public buildings in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and major provincial centres. Many of them are now heritage-listed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Mutual Provident Society Building</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

The Australian Mutual Provident Society Building is a heritage-listed office building at 416–418 Flinders Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hall and Cook and built from 1937 to 1938 by Stuart Brothers. It is also known as the former AMP Building and Connolly Suthers Lawyers. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 1 August 2005.

The Imperial Arcade was a commercial building in Sydney, Australia, designed by prominent Sydney architect Thomas Rowe opened in 1891 on the site now occupied by Westfield Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Pollard Sampson</span> Australian architect

Thomas Pollard Sampson was an Australian architect active in New South Wales during the first forty years of the 20th century. His work encompassed the styles of the Federation Arts and Crafts and Bungalow through to the Inter-War Styles. In 1912 he designed an octagonal roofed stadium at Rushcutters Bay that seated up to 12,000 spectators. At the time, the Sydney Stadium was said to be "the largest roofed-in structure in the world." In the 1920s and 1930s, as a golfer and member of Concord Golf Club and Pennant Hills Golf Club, he designed the clubhouses at both courses. The buildings of both these well known Sydney clubs are still in use in 2023.

The State Office Block was a landmark modernist skyscraper complex on a block bounded by Phillip, Bent and Macquarie streets in the Sydney central business district. Completed in 1965 and designed in the modernist International style by Ken Woolley from the NSW Government Architect's Office, the 128-metre-high building took the title of the tallest building in Australia from the nearby AMP Building until 1967, the 170 metre Australia Square tower was completed. Designed to hold offices of the NSW Government, including the cabinet and the Premier's office, the State Office Block was demolished in 1997 to make way Aurora Place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLC Building, North Sydney</span> Office Building in New South Wales, Australia

The MLC Building is a landmark modernist skyscraper in the central business district of North Sydney, on a block bounded by Miller Street, Denison Street and Mount Street. Planned in 1954 and completed in 1957, the complex was designed in the modernist Post-war International style by architects, Bates, Smart & McCutcheon. Its completion marked the appearance of the first high-rise office block in North Sydney and the first use of curtain wall design. Built to provide much-needed office space for the Mutual Life & Citizens Assurance Company Limited, the building continues to be primarily-occupied by its original tenants. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 January 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Newton Kenworthy</span> English-born Australian architect

George Newton Kenworthy FRAIA, also known as G. N. Kenworthy or "Kennie", was a leading Sydney architect and Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects best associated for his work in partnership with Henry Eli White and for his building designs in the Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, Functionalist and Spanish Mission styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel Metropole, Sydney</span> Hotel in Sydney, Australia

The Hotel Metropole was a hotel located on a block bounded by Bent, Phillip, and Young Streets in the central business district of Sydney. From its opening in January 1890, it was considered as one of Sydney's premier hotels, and catered towards rural visitors to the city. Originally designed by architects Sheerin & Hennessy and Twentyman & Askew, the hotel was remodelled and extended in 1929 by Henry Budden. With the land value outstripping the profits gained by the hotel by the late 20th century, the hotel was closed in May 1970 and demolished later the same year to make way for a modernist office development, CAGA House.

References

  1. ↑ "Know Your City". The Sun . New South Wales, Australia. 21 August 1933. p. 6. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "THE AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY'S OFFICE, PITT STREET NORTH". Illustrated Sydney News and New South Wales Agriculturalist and Grazier . New South Wales, Australia. 8 July 1872. p. 9. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY'S OFFICES". Sydney Mail . New South Wales, Australia. 19 December 1863. p. 6. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Australian Mutual Provident Society". The Maitland Mercury And Hunter River General Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 14 April 1877. p. 10. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "IMPROVEMENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald . New South Wales, Australia. 12 March 1875. p. 5. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Australian Mutual Provident Society". Evening News . New South Wales, Australia. 28 April 1875. p. 4. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Australian Mutual Provident Society". Australian Town and Country Journal . New South Wales, Australia. 3 February 1877. p. 20. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY'S NEW OFFICES". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser . New South Wales, Australia. 3 March 1877. p. 6. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "Australian Mutual Provident Society". Australian Town And Country Journal. New South Wales, Australia. 4 October 1879. p. 14. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  10. 1 2 "BUILDINGS AND WORKS. PROGRESS OF THE TRADE". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 8 June 1909. p. 5. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION". The Daily Telegraph. New South Wales, Australia. 5 June 1909. p. 20. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "The Late E. A. Scott, F.R.A.I.A,". Construction. New South Wales, Australia. 19 November 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "MR. F. E. MUNRO DEAD". The Sun. New South Wales, Australia. 15 January 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "A Solid Structure". Building. 5 (57): 49–50. 11 May 1912. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "AUSTRALIA'S ELDER ARCHITECTS 1. MR. E. A. SCOTT, F.R.A.I.A." Building and Engineering (3): 19–20, 33. 25 March 1946. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "A MASTER BUILDER Finlay Munro". Building. 33 (196): 52–53. 12 December 1923. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  17. ↑ "GENERAL NOTES". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 22 August 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  18. ↑ "THE A.M.P. – SIXTY-THREE YEARS AGO AND TO-DAY. – A GREAT INSTITUTION". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 22 January 1913. p. 11. Retrieved 15 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  19. ↑ "THE A.M.P. COMPETITION". Construction And Local Government Journal. New South Wales, Australia. 10 March 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  20. ↑ "A.M.P; SOCIETY". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 30 April 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  21. ↑ "A.M.P. BUILDING". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 21 November 1916. p. 10. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  22. ↑ "THE A.M.P." Sunday Times. New South Wales, Australia. 29 April 1917. p. 9. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  23. ↑ "BUILDINGS AND WORKS". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 16 January 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  24. ↑ "Queer Architecture". Building. 21 (123): 46–47. 12 January 1918. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  25. ↑ "A.M.P. BUILDING". Construction And Real Estate Journal. New South Wales, Australia. 4 May 1938. p. 8. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  26. ↑ "THE A.M.P. HEAD OFFICE, PITT STREET, SYDNEY". Construction And Real Estate Journal. New South Wales, Australia. 4 May 1938. p. 10. Retrieved 16 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  27. ↑ ""Amp Building" Including Interior". NSW State Heritage Inventory. Heritage NSW. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  28. ↑ "New Stone for Old". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 May 1962. p. 12.
  29. ↑ "Construction To Begin On Australia Square". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 July 1962. p. 16.
  30. ↑ "AMP Chambers demolition for Australia Square, Pitt Street Sydney, 1962 (13/09/1962), A-00045724". City of Sydney Archives & History Resources. City of Sydney. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "AMP Chambers demolition for Australia Square, Pitt Street Sydney, 1962 (13/09/1962), A-00045725". City of Sydney Archives & History Resources. City of Sydney. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  32. ↑ "AMP Chambers demolition for Australia Square, Pitt Street Sydney, 1962 (13/09/1962), A-00045726". City of Sydney Archives & History Resources. City of Sydney. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

33°51′54″S151°12′31″E / 33.8649°S 151.2085°E / -33.8649; 151.2085

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.