page_title: Block A, Townsville Technical College
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Block A, Townsville Technical College / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Townsville Technical College, additions. (An alternative name is Townsville State High School. Located in Stanley Street, Townsville.)
context_page_description: Block A of Townsville Technical College is a heritage-listed technical college building at 212-260 Stanley Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Department of Public Works and built from 1920 to 1921. It is also known as Townsville State High School and the City Campus of the Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 May 2004.
context_section_description: Block A is a prominent building being situated on the corner of Stanley and Walker Streets, against the dramatic backdrop of Castle Hill. The two-storeyed masonry building with a metal roof forms part of a group of buildings on the southern side of Stanley Street, including the former Townsville School of Arts and the Sacred Heart Cathedral, that contribute to the aesthetic qualities of views to Castle Hill.
  Built to the street alignment, the building is composed of three main parts, a truncated corner structure and two flanking wings arranged in an L-shaped plan. The classical design of the facade is evident in the regular arrangement of windows, varied roofline of pediments and domes and classical detailing in balustrades and mouldings. The symmetrical composition emphasises the corner location. The external walls of the building are brickwork, rendered and painted where visible from the street.
  The main entry is located at the truncated corner facing the Stanley and Walker Street intersection. In contrast to the rest of the facade, the entrance vestibule and the conference room, immediately above, are recessed behind narrow verandahs and surmounted by an octagonal dome. Each face of the octagonal base of the dome has a round window. A vented fleche surmounts the dome and three other similar fleches are mounted on the ridge of the roof. Panels of classical balusters form the parapet around the dome and the balustrade to the upper level verandah. The ground floor verandah has wrought iron balustrades.
  On each of the street facades; adjacent to the corner structure, at the ends of each wing and in the centre of the Stanley Street wing, are projecting bays surmounted by open bed pediments and stepped parapets. Banded rustication emphasises the corners of the bays. Windows in the bays are arranged in groups of three, with two single sashes flanking a pair of casement windows. On the upper level of each bay the central window is arched. The elaborate moulding and keystone over the arched window protrude into the tympanum above. Windows are generally pairs of timber casements with pivoting highlights over.
  The ground floor is raised above the street and a half flight of stairs at the street corner leads to glazed timber doors opening onto the entry vestibule. The entry vestibule is octagonal in plan with timber panelling up to door head height and a tiled floor. French doors open from the vestibule onto the narrow verandahs overlooking the street. The main stair, opposite the entrance door, consists of a single flight splitting midway up into two curved flights, positioned at 90 degrees to the lower flight. The stair, which is framed by an ornamental arch, has a decorative wrought iron balustrade and timber handrail. The flat-sheeted ceiling of the vestibule has timber cover battens laid out in a pattern reflecting the geometry of the room. A reception office is located adjacent to the entry vestibule. The entry vestibule opens onto verandahs on the back of the building that enclose two sides of a courtyard.
  Each level of the building is similar in plan with offices and classrooms accessed from the rear verandahs. Lattice screens and timber doors secure the entry vestibule from the verandahs on the lower level. The verandahs have painted brick columns, timber floors and vertical slatted balustrades and are partly enclosed by brick walls and toilet facilities. The lower level verandah has a flat ripple iron ceiling and lattice valence while the upper level has a raked timber boarded ceiling. Half glazed timber doors to classrooms and offices open directly from the verandah. The walls facing onto the verandahs are unpainted brickwork. Window heads and sills are concrete. A flight of stairs, enclosed with lattice panels and doors, is located along the external edge of the verandah on the Stanley Street wing. A connection has been built between the western end of the Stanley Street wing and the adjoining Block E. A raised concrete walkway joins the end of the verandah on the upper level of the Walker Street wing.
  On the first fl
caption: Townsville Technical College after the 1939 additions to the Stanley Street wing
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