Survey Data
Reg No
15009246
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
Shop/retail outlet
In Use As
Shop/retail outlet
Date
1895 - 1905
Coordinates
204054, 241480
Date Recorded
08/09/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Terraced eight-bay two-storey over basement with attic storey department store with single-bay three-storey pedimented breakfront, dated 1899. Renovated, c.1970, with new shopfront added to ground floor. Pitched natural slate roof with red brick chimneystacks to either end and decorative cast-iron rainwater goods. Rendered walls with stucco detailing, including pilasters, cornice, string course and raised stucco lettering. Square-headed window openings with timber fixed pane windows with four pane bottom-hung casements over to first floor, replacement windows above to dormer range. Moulded stucco surrounds to first floor openings. Shopfront to ground floor, c.1970, with fixed-pane windows with chrome detailing over limestone plinth. Extensive basements with brick vaulting below. Road-fronted.
Appraisal
This is an imposing and substantial purpose-built commercial building that retains its early form and character. This fine structure occupies a prominent corner site towards the centre of Athlone and is a landmark building on Church Street. It dates from the period when big department stores in town centres were becoming fashionable around the turn of the twentieth century. The stucco detailing, typical of the period, and the elaborate collection of cast-iron rainwater goods are noteworthy features of artistic merit.