McDonnell & East Ltd Building, Federation-style department store in Brisbane, Australia.
The McDonnell & East Ltd Building is a three-story department store on George Street made from red brick and stucco with decorative details and raised lettering on its facade. The structure combines traditional materials with crafted details typical of commercial buildings from this period.
Frank McDonnell and Hubert East, Irish immigrants who arrived in Brisbane in 1886, founded McDonnell & East Ltd in October 1901 with backing from publican Peter Murphy and bought John Reid's drapery business at 402–408 George Street. Architect Thomas Ramsay Hall designed the 1912 brick store, built by Andrew Gillespie for £10,734 and opened in April 1913 as the White Store. Hall and George Gray Prentice added three-storey extensions finished in March 1928; Hubert East died that May and McDonnell six months later.
The firm's name stayed on the building after the 1984 takeover by an investment group. The George Street Post Office operated inside the store from 27 July 1931 to 28 September 1990, its fittings supplied by McDonnell & East and its staff from the Postmaster-General's Department. The Queensland Room Coffee Lounge and Gallery, opened in 1965, won an international award for a community service project in a retail store.
The building is easy to locate on George Street, one of the main thoroughfares in the city center. The spaces have been adapted for modern use and are accessible for pedestrians to view and explore the exterior and public areas.
From 1931 to 1990, the building housed the George Street Post Office, offering postal services inside the department store. This combination was unusual and made the location a convenient hub for completing multiple errands in one place.
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