Restored façade unveiled as part of Myer site works

Historic façade for the Orange City Centre’s Summer Street entrance has been fully-restored with the scaffolding that has covered the site for months coming-down in the next couple of weeks.

Redevelopment of the former Myer site is continuing apace with the grand-opening of the shopping arcade set-down before Christmas. Potential tenants have already applied for development applications to Orange City Council with the arcade to be fully-operational from day-one, a spokesperson familiar with the development explained.

“It will be opening in mid-November all in one go with all the retailers on-board,” the spokesperson said enthusiastically. “It will be a lot more than just a food court; it will be a mix of fashion, food and services with restaurants looking onto Post-Office Lane.”

The façade dates back to the middle of the 19th century as the frontage for two different Dalton Brothers enterprises with horse-drawn carts delivering goods through the laneway between the two buildings.

As the business expanded, in 1895 the Daltons joined the two buildings over the laneway, creating the grand facade that remains today.

Around the turn of the 20th century, the Dalton partnership was dissolved and the façade became the frontage for the locally-legendary Western Stores for a number of decades.

“The façade has been fully-restored with all its original features. It will look nice once it (the scaffolding) comes down and people will be able to see all the work that has gone on,” the spokesperson said.

The site has been vacant since the closure of the old Myer retail store in Orange in January 2017. “It looked like nothing was happening for a long time but now people can see that things are coming along… it’s all on track,” the spokesperson concluded.