Behrens Warehouse

Behrens Warehouse is one of the largest warehouse and office blocks in the area known as "Little Germany." It is located on an imposing corner site at the junction with Peckover Street and was designed for S L Behrens in 1873 by the Milnes and France partnership. The building features five tall storeys and a semi-basement, constructed from finely dressed ashlar sandstone. Its design is grand yet functional, showcasing restrained Italianate details.

The east facade has a 14-window range, while the return to Peckover Street has 10 windows. The basement is deeply rusticated, and the windows on Peckover Street are adorned with fine Greek key and wheel patterned cast iron grilles. A deep sill band at the ground floor is articulated by V grooved pilastrade. Above this, there is a deep frieze and projecting cornice, with a blocking course serving as a sill course for the first-floor windows, which are also pilastraded and feature stilted segmental archivolt arches. A bracket cornice is positioned over the first floor, and the upper floors have plain windows set on sill bands.

Prominent eaves cornices are supported by large console brackets, and the tall, banded chimneys have a corniced design reminiscent of Venetian architecture. The massive portal at the end of the East Parade elevation is flanked by paired banded pilasters with capitals formed of four giant acanthus leaves. This portal features an entablature with a bracket cornice and a balustraded stone balcony above, flanked by dies. Adjacent to the portal, the waggonway shares the same proportions and has the ground floor sill band and rustication returned into the reveals. The fine cast and wrought iron gates are designed with baluster rails in Greek key and wheel framework, and include a valance of a similar pattern that displays the date and name of the owner. These gates provide access to the loading bay, which is equipped with a hoist that extends through the full height of the warehouse.