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George Raymond Johnson

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George Raymond Johnson (7 February 1840 – 25 November 1898) was an architect who practiced in late 19th century Melbourne and Perth, Australia. He is known for designing numerous important buildings, especially town halls and theatres.

Biography

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Johnson was born in Southgate, England and at age 13 began working with George Hall, Midland Railway architect. At 19 he moved to London, presumably to continue his architectural career.[1] On 24 July 1862 he married Emma Louise Wood and, two days later, the couple embarked on a journey of emigration to Queensland.[1] In 1867, Johnson moved to Melbourne, where he produced most of his major works. Following the bank crash in 1895 he moved to Perth, Western Australia, establishing a practice there. In 1898, while at sea returning to Melbourne, Johnson contracted sepsis, and died.[2]

Architectural works

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Johnson is known today for the design of a number of town halls across Victoria, notably the impressive Collingwood Town Hall, probably the most elaborate of the grand towered Second Empire style town halls that characterised the boom years of Melbourne in the 1880s, but he achieved contemporary renown for his theatres in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide (perhaps as many as fifteen[3]), now all demolished.[1] Johnson's greatest contemporary acclaim came from his design for the extensive northern additions to Reed & Barnes's grand 1880 Exhibition Building for the Centennial Exhibition of 1888, removed soon after the Exhibition.[2]

Johnson's major works, notably all the town halls and the theatres, were Renaissance Revival in style, and its variations including Free Classical, Italianate, Second Empire or Mannerist.[1][2] Many were designed "with bold and rich character from Johnson's mannerist palette, an idiom in which he was a master."[2] A few projects adopted different styles, such as the first building for the Hospital for Incurables, now the Austin Hospital, Heidelberg (1881, demolished), which was Venetian Gothic in character, in polychrome brick,[1] while his bluestone cottages for the Old Colonists Home in North Fitzroy (1870) were Gothic.[4]

A selection of Johnson's notable buildings are listed below. For a complete list of known works, see the database compiled by Johnson's descendant, architect Peter Johnson, included in Pride of Hotham (Hannan, 2006).[1]

Building Location Year Type Note
Old Colonists Home North Fitzroy 1870 cottages extant
Holdsworth (Daley) Building 376-386 Lygon Street, Carlton 1871 shops rear wings removed and front sections restored 1984[5]
Prince of Wales Opera House Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1872 theatre demolished 1900
Eastern Arcade Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria 1872 retail modified 1894, demolished 2008[6]
North Melbourne Town Hall North Melbourne, Victoria 1876 town hall Now Trading As Arts House
Theatre Royal, Adelaide Hindley Street, Adelaide 1878 theatre demolished 1962
Metropolitan Meat Market North Melbourne, Victoria 1880 commercial Now a performance and events venue

Trading as Meat Market

Austin Hospital for Incurables Heidelberg, Victoria 1882 other demolished c1970
Cathedral Hotel (1882/83), Swanston Street, north east corner of Flinders Lane, Melbourne 1883 hotel demolished c1970
Daylesford Town Hall Daylesford, Victoria 1882 town hall
Collingwood Town Hall Collingwood, Victoria 1885 town hall
Criterion Theatre Cnr Pitt and Park streets, Sydney 1886 theatre demolished 1935
Centennial Exhibition Annexes to Exhibition Building Carlton, Victoria 1887 other demolished 1889
Northcote Town Hall Northcote, Victoria 1887 town hall
Fitzroy Town Hall additions Fitzroy, Victoria 1887 town hall
Maryborough Town Hall Maryborough, Victoria 1887 town hall
Bijou Theatre Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria 1889 theatre demolished 1934
"Battle of Waterloo" Cyclorama 55 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy 1889 entertainment demolished 1927
Kilmore Town Hall Kilmore, Victoria 1894 town hall
Theatre Royal (interior only)[7] Hay Street, Perth 1897 theatre interior now shops, exterior survives

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Hannan, Bill (2006). Pride of Hotham. North Melbourne: Hotham History Project. ISBN 0-9586111-7-3.
  2. ^ a b c d Johnson, Peter. Johnson, George Raymond (1840–1898), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 16 August 2011.
  3. ^ Peterson, Richard (2005). "Edgewater Towers". A Place of Sensuous Resort: Buildings of St Kilda and Their People. St Kilda Historical Society.
  4. ^ "Rushall Park". Victorian Heritage Database. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Holdsworth Buildings". Victorian Heritage Database. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  6. ^ Hamish Heard (10 September 2008). "Demolition anger". Melbourne Leader. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  7. ^ "OPENING OF THE THEATRE ROYAL. ' THE SILVER KING.' The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) - 21 Apr 1897 - p3". Trove. Retrieved 29 October 2019.