West's Furniture Showroom is a heritage-listed former shop at 620 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Karl Langer and built from 1952 to 1953. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 4 December 2015.
History The former West's Furniture Showroom, completed in early 1953, was commissioned by Laurence (Laurie) West (1918–2013) as a modernist purpose-designed furniture showroom. Located at the northeast end of Fortitude Valley, one of Brisbane's busiest shopping centres at the time, it was designed by architect Dr Karl Langer (1903–1969) to attract attention and provide a setting for West's modern furniture. As the only Australian business licensed to make and sell Knoll furniture between 1956 and 1962, West's Furniture Showroom supplied architects with modern furniture for their buildings, and promoted Modern design both within the design community and to the general public. Sold by the West family in 1964, the building had several owners until its purchase by architect Robert Riddel, who in 2008 instigated and managed restoration and reconstruction works.
Fortitude Valley, located on the north side of the Brisbane central business district (CBD), developed over several stages to become one of Brisbane's most successful shopping centres, concentrated in Ann, Brunswick and Wickham Streets. A major building boom took place there in the 1880s, reflecting the widespread economic and population growth typical of the decade. Old timber buildings were replaced with larger, more impressive buildings, marking the growing sophistication, confidence and population of the suburb. Access was improved by the introduction of public transport in the form of horse-drawn trams (replaced by Brisbane's electric trams in the 1890s). By the close of the 1880s the Valley (as Fortitude Valley is often called by Brisbane residents) had become intensively settled and was beginning to grow rapidly as a secondary retail centre to the city centre. In 1891 the train line from the city was extended to Fortitude Valley, fuelling the growth of industry in the area, with large factories and warehouses established beyond the retail centre, close to workers' dwellings.Heritage Unit, Brisbane City Council (BCC), "Fortitude Valley Conservation Study", 1991, pp. 6–8Queensland Places, "Fortitude Valley", 2015, <queenslandplaces.com.au/fortitude-valley> (accessed 16 September 2015).
It was during the 1880s and 1890s that three major retailers were established in the Valley – Overell's drapery (est. 1883), TC Beirne's drapery (est. 1891), and McWhirters (est. 1898) – whose ongoing expansion reflected the wealth and optimism of Valley retailers, and attracted further activity and capital to the area.BCC, "Fortitude Valley Conservation Study", p. 8;
Another building boom took place throughout Brisbane in the 1920s; and the Valley in particular, with its success as a commercial and industrial hub, expanded even further. Connection to the city was improved, and electric trams, which passed the busy corner of Brunswick and Wickham Streets, brought thousands of shoppers to the Valley. In 1949, the year that Fortitude Valley celebrated its centenary of European settlement, the turnover of Valley retailers alone was estimated at £15 million each year, of which the three biggest firms, McWhirters, T C Beirne and Overells, accounted for more than a third.BCC, "Fortitude Valley Conservation Study", pp. 10–11'Fortitude Valley Centenary Supplement', The Courier Mail, 24 March 1949.
In the early 1950s the Valley underwent a facelift, with investment of more than £1 million in expanding and modernising buildings in order to compete with "uptown" Queen Street, bringing a "modern slickness" to the area. Old shopfronts were replaced with stainless steel and plate glass, dozens of shops were renovated inside and out, and larger stores were constructed, with new features such as escalators proving very popular with customers. Unlike Queen Street, the Valley had ample room for expansion and plenty of parking space, making it a desirable location for a "shopping centre of the future".'£1m "Facelift" for The Valley', Sunday Mail, 21 September 1952, p. 3'Valley Progressing', Townsville Daily Bulletin, 24 November 1953, p. 5.
In addition to the major stores, the Valley was home to hundreds of medium and small-scale businesses, including numerous furniture manufacturers and retailers. In the post-World War II (WWII) period, a growing percentage of goods sold in the Valley were coming from factories close to the main shopping centre, including printing, textiles, timber, domestic machinery, motor car assembly, hardware and furniture factories. Fortitude Valley was one of the main hubs for furniture retailers in Brisbane, along with Woolloongabba, South Brisbane and the CBD. The 1951–52 Brisbane Metropolitan Trade and Business Directory lists 18 "furnishers and furniture dealers" in the Valley, most concentrated at the southwest end of Wickham Street. The types of retailers ranged from the large department stores, to shops selling mass-produced furniture at affordable prices, to more specialist retailers who designed and/or made furniture to order.Brisbane Metropolitan Trade and Business Directory (Brisbane: Universal Business Directories Aust. Pty. Ltd., 1952), pp. 172–181
The most important feature of furniture shops were their showrooms: large, flexible spaces where the furniture was displayed, often in room-like configurations so that customers could visualise the furniture in their own homes. Most furniture showrooms at that time were housed within a variety of commercial or warehouse-type buildings; many in older buildings adapted for display purposes. Showrooms also ranged in size, from single-storey shops to multi-storey complexes of adjoining buildings.For example, after their previous store burnt down in 1946, Olsen & Goodchap at Wooloongabba moved into a brick building that once contained a shooting gallery. By 1954, John Hicks & Co. Ltd. (known as Hixco) had occupied the same site on the corner of George and Ann streets for 88 years, but had installed modern showrooms in the original section of the building. In 1954, Queensland Home Furnishers expanded their Petrie Bight showroom into the adjoining building to create a floor area of 10,000 square feet. "Crafti and Co., Ltd.", The Telegraph, 1 May 1928, p. 8'Shooting gallery to big furniture store', The Courier Mail, 28 July 1952, p. 7'They've lost count since "66", Sunday Mail, 10 January 1954, p. 21'Queensland Home Furnishing Supplement', Truth, 8 August 1954, pp. 29–30.
One of the Fortitude Valley furniture businesses was West's Furniture Emporium (West's) at 132–134 Wickham Street, established in 1937 by Frank Presnell West (father of Laurence West). Frank West had purchased the property in 1922 and in 1927–28 a 4-storey building was constructed on the site for Crafti & Co. Ltd, well known furniture retailers. After Crafti & Co. experienced financial difficulties in the mid-1930s and moved out, the building was occupied by West's. Advertisements from the 1930s and 40s show that West's sold a wide variety of furniture, in both "period" and "modern" styles, and their motto was "West's for the Best". Promoting themselves as a small family concern, their furniture was made in a chain of small factories, each specialising in varied classes of furniture.Certificate of Title, no.11536196Brisbane City Council Heritage Register, 'Baden Powell House''Crafti and Co., Ltd.', The Telegraph, 1 May 1928, p. 8'The Home Beautiful: Crafti's New Showroom', The Brisbane Courier, 3 May 1928, p. 3'New Warehouse', The Telegraph, 3 May 1928, p. 8'"You Can Put Me in Gaol": Outburst by Bankrupt', The Telegraph, 27 February 1940, p. 13'West's for Furniture: Great Opening in the Valley', The Telegraph, 29 June 1937, p.1 7Advertisement, "Announcement Extraordinary", The Telegraph, 26 March 1941, p. 15Advertisement, Sunday Mail, 20 April 1941, p. 24Advertisement, "Everything in Furniture", The Courier Mail, 24 March 1949, p. 7S.
By the early 1950s, Frank West's son Laurence (Laurie) West had joined the family furniture business. Born in 1918, Laurie became well known in musical circles as a fine baritone singer, and performed in many concerts and singing competitions as a young man in the 1930s and 40s. During WWII he served in the Australian army, attaining the rank of sergeant. After his discharge in April 1946, he and his wife Mary (née Quine, married in 1943) moved into their new, architect-designed residence at Fairfield. While still active in performing and musical circles, Laurie spent a short time studying architecture at the Brisbane Central Technical College. During his studies, Laurie was struck by the lack of local consideration given to the "world scene," especially in terms of interior design. Extending his own knowledge of this field through "extensive reading in libraries and [of] purchased books" – including subscriptions to journals from America, Sweden and Europe – and contact with like-minded individuals, including the architect Karl Langer in Brisbane and Harry Seidler in Sydney, Laurie developed a desire to supply Brisbane (and Australia) with modern furniture. This desire grew in ambition and scale, and in the early 1950s he began planning a new purpose-designed showroom for displaying and selling modern furniture.World War Two Nominal Roll, "West, Lawrence Presnell", accessed via 'True Bass Voice Revealed', The Courier Mail, 1 December 1936, p.10'Miss Mary Quine', Sunday Mail, 30 November 1941, p.10'Today's Weddings', The Courier Mail, 6 February 1943, p. 4'Women's Interests: Social Round', The Courier Mail, 1 April 1946, p. 5'"Finest Baritone": Maryborough Contests', The Daily Mercury, 22 April 1946, p. 2'Fashions in Furs at Opera Opening', The Courier Mail, 23 May 1953, p. 7'Full Results of 1951 Technical College Examination', The Courier Mail, 10 January 1952, p. 10Applicant, 'West's Furniture Showroom (former) 1952', 2015, pp. 7–8'West's Furniture' drawn by Laurence West, R 83 Karl Langer Architectural Plans, Box 15739 O/S, Roll 21/1, John Oxley Library (JOL), State Library of Queensland (SLQ),1951.
The site chosen for the new showroom was at the northeast edge of Fortitude Valley, in a predominantly residential and industrial area. Frank West sold his property at 132–134 Wickham St in 1951 and in the same year purchased 618 Wickham Street (now known as 620 Wickham Street). At the time, the property consisted of an old timber residence with a shop at the front, and had rear access from Knapp Street. In 1951, Laurie West himself drew up some concept plans for a modern showroom on the site, which included a fish pond inside the front display window, a side arcade and entrance, an open-plan showroom with regularly-spaced posts painted bright primary colours, and a flat roof with rooftop garden.Certificate of Title, no.12497180Brisbane City Council, Sewerage Detail Plan no.210'Rates Up £290 in 60 Years', The Courier Mail, 8 July 1953, p. 9Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) aerial, BCC5-39335, 1951R 83 Karl Langer Architectural Plans, Box 15739 O/S, Roll 21/1, John Oxley Library (JOL), State Library of Queensland (SLQ),1951.