Terrazzo Floor Entrance to the Former Ladner's Jewellers - 282 Smith Street, Collingwood

            A piece of advertising in Melbourne's Age newspaper on the 21st of December 1923 reads as follows:

"Everyone will surely find in the array of delightful jewellery displayed at LADNER'S; Watches, Bangles, Rings and Brooches - all beautifully made, all reasonably priced - are there in abundance.  Let your New Year Gifts be Jeweller - Let LADNER furnish the Gifts."

W. E. Ladner was a successful Melbourne jeweller with premises in the "Paris End" of Collins Street in Melbourne's central business district, in the affluent north eastern suburb of Ivanhoe and a large shop in one of Melbourne's most fashionable, and very first suburban shopping strips; Smith Street Collingwood.  

The Smith Street premises not only sold jewellery, but also did jewellery and watch repairs, and had its own in-house optician for the expert fitting of spectacles.  In the mid 1920s, Mr. Ladner decided a total refurbishment of his Smith Street store was required, so he exchanged Edwardian opulence for the prevailing fasbion of Jazz Moderne Art Deco.  This included a new shop front treatment, so he had the expensive new floor treatment Terrazzo laid in blue, red and yellow, with his name emblazoned in simple capitals at the very front.

It is across this magnificent, colourful Terazzo floor that two escaped criminals, John Henry Taylor and Peter Leslie Dawson walked on the 6th of September 1955, one brandishing a .22 rifle, admitting to staff that they were the two escapees before demanding money and jewellery worth in excess of  £600.00 (a substantial sum in 1955).  The brazen criminals were caught the next day, and the jewellery returned to Mr. Ladner.

Sadly, little is left today of the magnificent Art Deco jewellery store Mr. Ladner created.  Yet under the unsuspecting passing shoppers' feet, Mr. Ladner's name remains emblazoned in the terrazzo floor he laid.

Smith Street is the junction between Collingwood and Fitzroy. The street is well known for it’s colourful vibrancy and it is an urban melting pot. Often sought after as a film location for it’s diverse offerings, it is a favorite destination of Melburnians in the know. You will find from factory outlets to quirky shopping experiences and items you can get nowhere else. Its bars and nightlife are notorious haunts for trend setters. Its food brings people from all walks of life with a history and longevity of several generations.   

 Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical, or a combination of both. Terrazzo is cured and then ground and polished to a smooth surface or otherwise finished to produce a uniformly textured surface.

Taken on: December 28, 2012

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Sets appears in: • Art Deco • Floor tiles

Groups appears in: • * CityScapes & City Life • Melbourne more » • Abandoned • Melbourne and Beyond • *Remarkable Shop Signs* • Hidden in Plain Sight • Storefronts • Deco • Art-Deco • Architecture and Buildings • Decay • architectural photography • Architecture and Forms • Nouveau-Deco • Historic Australia 1901-1945 • Architectural details and decorative elements • australia pics • Fancy Floors • Shopulence • Abandoned But Not Forgotten • Victoria, Australia • Collingwood, Melbourne, 3066 • Art Deco that SHOULD be famous worldwide • victoria australia • Signs! Just Beautiful Signs! • IMAGE`S OF BUILDINGS - OLD AND NEW • Historical Buildings and Landmarks (No Limits) • Terrazzo Floors • Architecture of Days Gone By • Melbourne Close-Up, Architectural Details • Architecture Directory • Australia-down-under • Art Deco Melbourne • They Dont Make Them Like They Used To • Shopping History pre-1950 • Sign design in Australia • Antique Shop Signs • Art Deco SHOPS • Give Me a Sign • School of Digital Photography • the world at your feet • Antique Architectural Details • The 1920s • The Thirties « less

Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/4.0, 1/100 sec, 11.6mm, ISO 250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	11.6mm
ISO:	250
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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