Falk & Company Warehouse
| Customs House | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Former names |
Falk & Co. Warehouse; Woolworths Storehouse |
| General information | |
| Location | 32°03′14″S 115°44′38″E / 32.053954°S 115.743788°E |
| Address | Corner of Henry, Pakenham Streets with Phillimore (2 Henry, 41 Phillimore) |
| Construction started | 1888 |
| Renovated | 1985 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Floor area | 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | F. W. Burwell (additions only) |
Falk & Co. Warehouse;
Customs House and former Falk & Company Warehouse in Fremantle is a three-storey brick building with a number of prominent ornate façades on Phillimore Street between Henry and Pakenham Streets. It houses the Fremantle regional office of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Centrelink, and a number of other federal government offices.
The Customs House was built in 1985 on the site of a number of Victorian warehouses and offices, with only the facades of these being retained and the entire interior of the site being demolished and rebuilt. The most prominent of these older buildings, and the one whose façade now serves as the main entrance to the Customs House, was that of P. Faulk and Co..
This warehouse was built in 1888 on land that had recently become available as a result of the reclamation of the bank of the Swan River for the Fremantle railway line. It was extended by Frederick William Burwell in 1896, and again in 1903; these additions were the bulk of the extant corner façade on the corner of Henry and Philimore streets.
In September 1895 there was a fire in the building, but due to the quick response of the fire brigade and a special regulating firehose nozzle invented and built by the Fremantle fire superintendent (JC Frazer), only £200 damage was done.
The building was owned by James Lilly from c.1909 until World War II, when the US Navy used it as a storage location.
Other 19th century buildings were mostly demolished to make way for the modern Customs House, such as Tolley and Co. wine merchants.
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