Cribb & Foote Hardware

Cribb & Foote called for tenders to construct a warehouse on the site of their old cotton gin which was in Nicholas Street. The tender of T. J. Humphreys was accepted and by July 1898 the building was almost completed. The Queensland Times reported in July 1898:

The building has a frontage to Nicholas street of 66ft. by a depth of 132ft. Its walls are of brick and run up to heights of 20ft. at side parapets, and 40ft. up to apex of blocking over front gable from ground floor. There is a right-of-way 19ft. wide running from front to back of building and on either side a splendid concrete floor is formed finished in cement to a smooth and hard surface. A gallery runs round the two sides and end of the building, having a substantial floor of hardwood carried on hardwood posts and cross beams, and capable of carrying many tons of merchandise. The roof is a single one, spanning the whole width of the building, and is trussed over each bay, about 12ft. apart, the trusses being carried on longitudinal beams supported on square posts from the floor below. Cross beams, at gutter level project beyond the hardwood posts and carry the runners for the travelling crane. A lantern light, 80ft. long, is framed into the principals and sheds a capital light all over the ware-house, also forming a good means of ventilation. The height from ground floor to lantern light is 40ft., and viewed from the right-of-way, the building appears very lofty and commodious. The roofing is of corrugated iron nailed to purlins, which are spiked and bolted longitudinally over the principals. Capacious gutters are formed the entire length of the building and empty themselves at each end, the water being carried away by means of 6in. and 9in, pipes discharging into watertables in Nicholas and Bremer Streets. The travelling crane will traverse the whole length of the warehouse over the right-of-way at an altitude of 25ft., and is to be worked from the bottom. By the means of this crane the expenditure of labour is minimised. Merchandise can be lifted from off the dray and deposited anywhere along the length of the warehouse, and, by means of a travelling crab, which runs transversely along the top of the crane, goods can be shifted from one side to the other and also raised *to the floor of the gallery above. In addition to the lantern light the warehouse is lighted by means of large windows in front and at back, and by pivot lights on the north side. The entrances at front and back are by openings 11ft. wide by 12ft. high, which are closed with double sliding doors. There is also a similar opening, 8ft. wide by 10ft. high, on the north side. The front elevation is a distinct feature in itself, as compared with the architecture of the other buildings in our town. The lacework is of brick, tuck pointed and relieved by string courses of selected bricks of different colours, and cement dressings. The front is grouped, as it were, into three bays, being separated by pilasters running up the two stories to the main cornice, which is mitred round to form caps. The pilasters are rendered in cement with ornamental bases, the shafts being plain up to the first floor, and finished with sunk and moulded panels and flutings above, and cast brackets in frieze. The main cornice runs up as a pediment in centre bay, and breaks the horizontal lines with good effect. The arches over the openings have the middle ring of red and the outer rings of buff bricks, and ornamental key-stones face the entrance opening and window above, and also the first floor centre windows of the side bays. The blockings above the main cornice are tuck-pointed, finished with cornice on top, stepped up the centre bay to the apex, and crowned with ball terminal. Ball terminal also surmount the piers of blockings over the pilasters. The sashes are painted white and the frames a buff colour, which give a happy blending to the appearance of the whole of the work. The contract, the price for which was about £2000, has, it is needless to say, been faithfully carried out by Mr. Humphreys. The brick work has been excellently done by that well-known builder, Mr. John Mackenzie, while the plumbing and painting have been capitally executed by Messrs. J. Cuthbert and H. Grainger respectively. The plan for the building was designed and drawn by Mr. G. Brockwell Gill, architect, of the Queensland Times Chambers, and it must be pleasing to the contractor and to all the other workmen concerned to know that that gentleman is thoroughly satisfied with the way in which the undertaking has been performed. The building will be a pronounced addition to the architectural beauty of the town-a fact on which Messrs. Cribb and Foote and Mr. Gill may well be complimented.

In 1908-1909, the Cribb and Foote Hardware (Bulk Stores) designed by George Brockwell Gill, was built in Bell Street, backing on to the Nicholas Street warehouse. in Bell Street. 

The Queensland Times reported in February 1909:

MESSRS. CRIBB AND FOOTES BULK STORE. The brick bulk store recently erected by Messrs. Cribb and Foote, in Bell-street, is another notable addition to the architecture of the city. The frontage is 66ft and the depth 132ft and the building connects with the bulk store of equal size which has a frontage to Nicholas street, the block covering an area of 66ft by 264ft. The new store is two storeys in height, the ground floor being concreted throughout, and the first floor laid with hardwood. A cart-dock, is formed at the entrance to the structure, and a tram-line runs through from the dock to the electric lift at the other end. The front elevation is in face brickwork, relieved with cemented piers, cornices, and enrichments, and stands out prominently in its architectural treatment of bold and firm lines. The cost of the building was £3000 odd. The contractors were Messrs. Wilson and Pickles, and the architect was Mr. G. Brockwell Gill. As indicated above to facilitate the storage of goods on the first floor an electrically-driven goods-lift, with a spacious cage, has been installed. The capacity is about a ton at a speed of 5Oft per minute. The current is generated by a dynamo driven from a nine horse-power Hornsby oil-engine used in another part of the building for corn-cracking, &c. A storage battery will shortly be installed, so that the current will always be available, while the dynamo will be run only occasionally. The lift-wear was made by Messrs. F. E. Barbat and Sons, and the electrical equipment was supplied by the Synchronome Electrical Company, of Brisbane; whilst Messrs. Webb and Weston, consulting engineers, of the same city, designed the lift and revised the work. The sub-contractors were :-Brick work, Mr. G. Williams; plastering, Mr. J. Jamieson; plumbing, Mr. J. Cuthbert ; and joinery, Mr. A. Foote. We hear that the battery is now on its way from England.

Messrs. F. E. Barbat and Son were the contractors for the iron work.

Walter Reid & Co. acquired 91% of Cribb & Foote in 1972.