Real estate agent, Karl Zabel, has firsthand experience of the mastery of Goulburn's renowned architect, EC Manfred.
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The Bowral-based agent grew up in a Manfred-designed home in Goulburn. Now he's marketing one of the architect's most distinctive buildings - the 'Old Fire Station' at 11 Montague Street.
Dunne Real Estate is inviting expressions of interest in the two-storey brick rendered brick building which is being marketed far and wide.
"It's an extraordinary building and is pretty iconic in the psyche of Goulburn people," Mr Zabel said.
"The whole streetscape has exceptional buildings from the 19th century right through to the 1920s and 1930s and modern buildings which culminate with Saint Saviour's Cathedral at one end."
He also recalls going to 'The Old Fire Station' bar and restaurant when the building was briefly converted into a popular night spot in the 1980s.
With legal firm, Johnson and Sendall, moving out this year, Mr Zabel is throwing out the challenge for someone to transform the building into "something exciting." He says it's sure to capture the imagination of visionaries and enthusiasts alike.
Possible uses include a wine bar, hotel or gallery, dependent on council approval. The property is zoned B3 commercial core, loaning itself to a range of commercial and retail uses.
![The Montague Street building housed the town's fire station from 1890 until the early 1970s. Picture supplied. The Montague Street building housed the town's fire station from 1890 until the early 1970s. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/500d784d-2528-49a9-908d-38d7bd0a585a.jpg/r0_0_574_677_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The structure includes ample office space, kitchen and bathrooms downstairs and four rooms, a kitchenette and bathroom upstairs.
Reminders of a distinctive past are present inside and out, including the 'garage' style doors at the front. Between 1890 and the early 1970s, the city's fire trucks raced off to emergencies through the arched entries. On top, a tower once housed a fire bell, which has since been 'loaned permanently' to Saint Nicholas Anglican Church, North Goulburn, according to a 1983 Goulburn heritage study.
Manfred researcher, Linda Cooper, said the architect submitted three designs for the fire station after much debate about its location.
"The eventual building appears to be a combination of all designs, which were all very similar," Mrs Cooper said.
It was built across a narrow "28 feet" frontage on land purchased for 500 pounds from solicitor and former Goulburn mayor, JT Gannon. Contractors G Dalton and F Everett constructed the building for 806 Pounds and the new fire station was opened in late 1890.
Mrs Cooper said Manfred was adept at designing structures across narrow frontages, the former Town Hall in Auburn Street being a case in point. A rear lane also allowed vehicles to enter and exit.
Historian Ransome T Wyatt wrote that the fire bell was at one time the "loudest in Australia." It was cast by Vickers, Sons and Company of Sheffield and first erected at the former fire station in Auburn Street in 1885. Writing in 1941, Wyatt said the bell had "since been superseded by an alarm."
At the rear, reminders of the building's use as a wine bar are visible in signage.
![The Old Fire Station wine bar and restaurant operated from the building in the 1980s. Picture supplied. The Old Fire Station wine bar and restaurant operated from the building in the 1980s. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/0af71d8a-9075-4170-9af0-b7725d1c0fc2.jpg/r0_46_1900_1414_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Zabel said original features remained inside, including fireplaces. The building was renovated in the late 1980s after solicitors Johnson and Sendall occupied the space.
"The facade, with its wonderful symmetry and the bell tower, is the most significant part. It hasn't lost any of what it's about," Mr Zabel said.
He told The Post that interest had been strong since the property hit the market mid last week. It is being pitched across numerous real estate platforms, including realestate.com.au
Mr Zabel said the market for Goulburn commercial buildings remained strong.
"Our aim is to work with interesting properties that are well located and the old fire station fits that criteria," he said.
"I think there's an opportunity there for someone to do something really exciting with it."
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