David Jones, Elizabeth Street, Sydney

The David Jones Elizabeth Street store was designed by Henry E Budden and Crawford H Mackellar and constructed in 1928. The site has continually operated as the flag ship shore for David Jones Pty Ltd over the last 90 years and has undergone several key stages of refurbishment that reflect changes in commercial practices, customer expectations, advances in technology and service provision. While many other department stores of the same era have closed their doors or changed their names, both the name ‘David Jones’ and its identity as a prestige retail store has endured. The recent renovations to the store represented the next phase in its evolution.

Weir Phillips Heritage provided heritage advice for the refurbishment of the David Jones Elizabeth Street store. Our involvement included providing advice during the initial design phases, updating an earlier Conservation Management Plan, obtaining the approval approvals and guiding construction.  We worked closely with City of Sydney Council and the clients to ensure that the significance of the site was retained and celebrated whilst guiding new works to enable the building to continue to be an aesthetic, historical and cultural landmark in Sydney’s CBD.