Red Cross House

During the late 19th century and up to the 1950s, the area west of the Central Business District, that is west of George Street through to the former wharves on Darling Harbour, was characterised by businesses with functions and services associated with import and export, textile and clothing manufacturers, etc.[1]

The redevelopment of this area from its predominant early to mid-19th century-use as a residential quarter commenced in the 1860s. The 1880s consolidated Clarence, Kent and York Streets as "the great warehousing streets" of Sydney. After the economic downturn of the 1890s, the pent up demand for warehousing in the first decade of this century resulted in another building boom of large five to seven storey buildings. These new warehouses often also resulted on the consolidation of the smaller residential sized allotments of about 10 perches.[1]

The firm of S. Hoffnung & Co. was established in 1853 by Sigmond Hoffnung (1830-1904) a Polish migrant who arrived in Sydney in 1852. During the gold rush years of the 1850s-1860s Hoffnung (in partnership with Henry Nathan) prospered by supplying miners and settlers of the colony with provisions and stores. In 1870 the company commissioned the construction of new purposely built premises at 163/171 Pitt Street. These premises were designed by Thomas Rowe. Also during the 1870s the company opened new branches in Brisbane, New Zealand, Fiji and London. In 1899 the company was incorporated as a private limited liability company and adopted the title of S. Hoffnung & Co. Limited. Later, in 1902 the firm became a public company.[1]

In April 1937 the company's premises at 163-171 Pitt Street were resumed by the Commonwealth Government for the proposed extensions to the Sydney GPO. Prior to this in early 1937 the company had undertaken the purchase of several allotments of land on Kent and Clarence Street. The move to the new premises at Clarence Street was completed in January 1939. While the company continued to trade from their 367-371 Kent Street property the premises at Clarence Street became their headquarters.[1]

Sigmond Hoffnung and presumably his descendants were prominent in Jewish activities in the city of Sydney. Sigmond was associated with the York Street Synagogue and a benefactor of the building committee of the Great Synagogue in Elizabeth Street. He also served on committees to raise money for the Sydney Jewish Sabbath School; the Sydney Hebrew Certified Denominational Scholl, and the Jewish Philanthropic and Orphan Society.[1]

The Clarence Street property was the fifth warehouse occupied by the firm. The location of the earlier premises were generally in the vicinity of the GPO: at 339 George Street (from 1855), 2 Wynyard Street (from 1861), 117 Pitt Street (from 1870) and 163-171 Pitt Street (from 1883). The size and architectural quality of these buildings suggest that the firm during the period 1850s to c. 1950s was an important member of Sydney's commercial trading houses.[1]

The Australian Red Cross was established in 1914 (as a consequence of the outbreak of hostilities at this time) as a branch of the British organisation. The institution is associated with a wide range of medical and social welfare activities. Prior to the move to Hoffnung building, the New South Wales branch of this society was located in premises at No. 1 York Street.[1]

The current owner of the building is the Australian Red Cross Society. The property was purchased by the Society in July 1970.[1]

The design of the building is credited to Samuel Lipson in conjunction with the large Sydney architectural practice of Robertson, Marks and McCredie. However the role of Robertson, Marks and McCredie in this relationship is not entirely clear as Lipson alone appears to have been responsible for the drawings prepared in the development stages of the project.[1]

Samuel Lionel Lipson (1901-) was born in Leeds, England of Lithuanian descent. His architectural training commenced in 1916 at the School of Architecture within the Glasgow School of Arts. Lipson passed the RIBA entrance examination in 1924, and in the following year migrated to Australia. Following his arrivals in Sydney, Lipson was employed for a while in the Commonwealth Department of Works and Railways. During his tenure here he worked on a number of Commonwealth Bank buildings erected around the county at this time. Connected with this work was the remodelling of the bank's head office at the corner of Pitt Street and Martin Place. Lipson was retrenched from government employment in the early 1930s and went into private practice. One of the early significant commissions was the remodelling of The Daily Telegraph Building in 1933 for the Bank of New South Wales (extant and now known as the Trust Building).[1]

From the mid-1930s Lipson was in practice with Peter Kaad. The work of this firm was heavily influenced by the Dutch School of Architecture, in particular by the work of Willem Dudok. Extant important work by this office up to the outbreak of World War II includes the Hoffnung Building (1937-8) and the Temple Emmanuel, Woollahra.[1]

• October 1938 – Installation of partitions on the first floor
• November 1939 – Alterations to the ground floor lock up shop at 157 Clarence Street
• November 1947 – Installation of ventilation ducts on the ground floor
• May 1955 – Making of two holes (purpose not known but probably chutes) on the lower ground floor for S. Hoffnung & Co.
• March 1964 – Unspecified alteration valued at £300
• 1972 – Alterations to the premises for uses as offices and as a blood transfusion service for the Australian Red Cross Society. These alterations were undertaken by the Dept. of Public works and Lipson, Kaad & Fotheringham from mid 1972. Visual inspection of the extant building indicates these alterations partitioned the interior spaces, removed the original shop fronts and showcases on the Clarence Street facade, inserted additional lifts, and converted the cart dock area to car parking. amenities such as lavatories were also probably upgraded at this time.
• March 1974 – Erection of an illuminated sign for the Red Cross Society by Claude Neon. This work valued at $20,000 and probably relates partly to the conversion of the Clarence Street clock.
• c. 1976 – Installation of an Energy Australia electricity substation (no. 3588) probably in relation to the use of the building as a blood transfusion centre.
• December 1987 – Installation of partitioning on the third floor. work valued at $20,00
• January 1988 – Construction of a storeroom on a ? new eighth floor
• June 1993 – Partitioning and bricking up openings on the third floor
• September 1993 – Enlarging of existing diesel generator plant.[1]

• Clive Lucas Stapleton and Partners Pty Ltd (1998). Conservation Analysis - Red Cross House.
• Jahn, Graham (1997). Sydney Architecture.
• Royal Australian Institute of Architects (2000). State Heritage Inventory form.

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Red Cross House, entry number 1511 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 14 October 2018.