Commercial Bank of Australia Building, Armidale, heritage-listed former bank and telegraph office in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
The building in Armidale is a brick structure from the late 1880s that originally served as a bank and telegraph office and now houses retail spaces. It features a symmetrical facade with large arched windows on the ground floor and Victorian-style elements such as decorative brackets and a slate roof.
Built 1882–1885 by C.T. Cook to designs from the Colonial Architect's Office under James Barnet, the building first housed the Land Board Office, then the Telegraph Office, whose master in 1889 was Robert W. Arnott. Sold in 1918 to the State Savings Bank, taken over by the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1932, it gained a Permanent Conservation Order on 21 March 1986 and was listed on the State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The name "Comfort Lodge" is attached to the building, though the sources give no explanation for it. Its arcaded portico echoes the loggia of the adjacent Armidale Post Office at 158-160 Beardy Street, and the two buildings were linked in function and form through much of their early history. Retail shops have occupied the ground floor since 1986.
The building is located on Beardy Street in Armidale and is easily accessible on foot as it sits in a central part of the commercial area. It now functions as retail space, so visitors can view the exterior at any time, though interior access depends on the current tenants.
The 1936 photograph shows two chimneys flanking the centre of the roof; neither survives today. The slate roof was damaged by hail in 1996 and partly replaced, and the building was repainted in 2005. The rear and side walls are plain brown brick, unlike the rendered street facade.
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