Clinton Cole’s decision to buy 466 Cleveland Street was the biggest risk of his career,but it’s paid off in spades.Credit:Janie Barrett
Likely to have been constructed in the 1880s,the commercial building on the corner of Cleveland and Nickson Streets is a modest example of the boom style. The look was popular in the late 1800s in Melbourne,but was also common in Sydney,says Cameron Logan,an architectural historian at the University of Sydney.
At some point in the mid-1900s,the building’s owner opted to cover up the original glass signage facade for a more modern and practical,but less visually pleasing,look.
Luckily for Cole,that owner had the foresight to preserve the facade.
“What was incredible was how careful the person who had installed those cover panels had been to ensure the nails were perfectly pinned to not cause damage to the glass signage,” Cole said.
As Cole and his team removed the panels above the restaurant sliding doors,what they found was a perfectly preserved shopfront,with original copper-clad Australian red cedar frames and gold-gilded Flemish glass signage.