Newcastle, Pilgrim Street, No. 16, F Robson and Co. Opticians

HER Number:
15119

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Newcastle, Pilgrim Street, No. 16, F Robson and Co. Opticians

Place:
Newcastle

Map Sheet:
NZ26SW

Class:
Commercial

Site Type: Broad:

Site Type: Specific:
Opticians

General Period:
Modern

Specific Period:
C20

Form of Evidence:
Extant Building

Description:
Ryder and Yates designed the façade of this optician's premises in 1962 in clear plate glass. The company name was engraved in plastic-laminate-faced plywood panels. The original Victorian shopfront and reception area was replaced but the rest of the interior remained unchanged. The reception interior was decorated with white Formica-faced panels. Next to the main entrance there was a black Formica screen showing a plan of medieval Newcastle. Formica was manufactured at a factory at North Shields. The shop was awarded a Civic Trust Commendation on 1963. The façade lasted until the 1990s when it was replaced with an all-glass façade.

Easting:
2495

Northing:
6441

Grid Reference:
NZ24956441

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Rutter Carroll, 2009, Ryder and Yates - Twentieth Century Architects, pp 59-60