Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929), Thursday 28 June 1928, page 7


RE-BUILDING HOOPER'S

Big Structure on Old Site.

Work to begin Next Month.

The proposed new building fo r Hooper's, as it will appear when complete. Portion of this block, having a f rontage of 86 ft. 9 In. to Hindley street and 87 ft. 9 m. to Leig h street, Is to be proceeded with at once u nder the supervision of Messrs. Garlick & Jackman, architects. '

The proposed new building fo r Hooper's, as it will appear when complete. Portion of this uiock, having a f rontago of 86 ft. 9 In. to Hindley street and 87 ft. 9 m. to Leig h street, Is to be proceeded with at once u nder the supervision of Messrs. Garlick & Jackman, architests. '

ADELAIDE'S OLDEST FURNITURE BUSINESS. INTERKTING ASSOCIATIONS.

Great progress has been made in Hindley street during the last decade, and the erection of hand somo shops is to be continued by Hooper's on. a-site that the business has occupied for 62 years. The building will be of modern' construction, and will be un to datn in ouoru

?.particular, ?.'..,.' -There is no misgivinK in the minds of the directors ol Hooper's Furnishing Arcade, Limited, regarding the future of Adelaide, for the firm is entering upon a big rebuilding . scheme at once. This msiness which was started 62 years ago in . a small shop' on the corner of Hindley and 'Leigh streets, has expanded to such an extent that'i-ebuildinff operations have become imperative to cope with the de mands of expanding trade. Plans have, therefore, been completed by Messrs. Garlick & Jackman, architects, of a struc

MR. WILLIAM HOOPER, The founder of the business.

MR. WILLIAM HOOPER, The founder of the business.

ture having frontages 88 ft. 9 in. to Hind ley street, and 87 ft. 9 in. to Leigh street. The firm possesses the whole block be tween Leigh street and Peel street, and extending back to the Church Office. The plans are for'a building of a basement and three floors above covering the whole of the block, but the portion to be erected forthwith will not take in the whole of

? MR. FRED C. LAVI5, Director. '

? MR. FRED C. LAVI5, Director. '

the property. A new 'suspended awning will be placed over the whole of the Hindley and Leigh street frontages from Peel street to the Church Office, and the footpath will be repaved with cement slabs. The existing buildings will be re medcllcd to accommodate the office staff and provide for a series of showrooms for the display of furniture. ,

Building Modern In Every Particular. The work of demolishing the buildings which are to be replaced will begin earlr next month, and a new structure of rein forced cement concrete and steel, with brick external walls, finished with cement to resemble buff sandstone, will he erec ted. An important feature of the new building will be three large island show windows, each 20 ft. x 16 ft. These win dows will have an area of 3.800 square feet o£ polished plateglass. They will have

MR. R. J. LAV IS, The present Governing Director.

MR. R. J. LAV IS, The present Governing Director.

polished granite bases, and floors of oak parquetry. Their ceilings will be of Wunderlich embossed steel-. There will be three broad entrances to the shop, and these will be tiled The whole of the shop's front will be of drawn metal mould ings of . special design, and the entrance doors will be of oak with bevelled plate glass.

MR. F. W. ELLIS, Director.

MR. F. W. ELLIS, Director.

; Attention to Detail. The management has found that the re quirements of the business necessitate the provision of lifts and also of special facili ties for, displaying furniture in rooms, and these requisites are to be included. Two electric elevators of the most up-to-date type procurable will be' installed and ar

ranged in convenient positions to suit customers and for the conveyance lof goods. The floors of the main building will be of cement covered with 'polished jarrah, and the ceilings will be of panelled fibrous plaster. The internal woodwork, including the staira and elevator cages, will be of polished oak. Though .the build ing is to be made as nearly fireproof as possible, a Grinnell fire extinguishing sys tem will be installed, with additional chemical fire extijjsuishera. and a direct alarm to the City .hire Brigade. 'Both the show windows and the interior of the shop will have an efficient system of electric lighting which will give a particularly good effect. Mechanism is to be placed in the basement to provide a system of fre3h. air ventilation for the premises. A pneu matic cash tube system will be installed with stations on the various floors leading to the cashier's office. Tlie general con tractor for the building is Messrs. J. Grove & Son, and the work will be carried out tinder the direct ? supervision of Messrs. Garlick & Jackman, architects. Adelaide's Oldest Furnishing Business. Hooper's business has been in existence for C2 years, and is said to be the oldest furniture establishment in Adelaide. The founder was Mr. William Hooper, who was formerly engaged by Mr. W. C. Buik, one of the early Mayors of Adelaide and a well-known ironmonger in Bundle street. The portrait of Mr, William Hooper, re produced on this page, bears an impress of the line personality of the man. He started in a very small way as an iron monger and furnisher in a single shop at the corner of Hindley and Leigh Btreets. but by. assiduous attention to business, by his geniality, and the exercise of tho qualities of rectitude and enterprise he quickly attained a big business connection as well as considerable popularity, and he established a. personal contact between the management of the business and its cus tomers which has been continued by his successors. He retired after conducting the business for 14 years, and one of hia sons. Mr. W. C. Hooper, who is now living in North Adelaide, succeeded him, and had control for, 27 years. Mr. W. C. Hooper maintained the high standing of the establishment, and the company now in control, adopting the motto, 'Quality, courtesy, and' service,' has endeavoured to keep in close personal touch with its increasing circle of customers. The Present Directorate. Mr. R. J. Lavis, after a long commercial training with Messrs. Good, Toms, & Co., expanded by 11 years in business on his own account in Gawler, and by experience as a director of Messrs. Matthew Goode and Co., Limited, purchased Hooper's Furnishing Arcade in 1907, and carried on as sole proprietor until five years ago, when he formed the business into a pri vate limited company, named Hooper's Furnishing Arcade, Limited, with his son (Mr. F. C. Lavish nnd Mr. F. W. Ellii as co-directors.' Mr. B. J. Lavis is the

governing director of the coni^aii)'. He maintains continuity of associations in the business from the fact that as a lad of 12 years he knew the founder; Mr. William Hooper, well; and though lie had not at that time any thought of ever cither being employed in or owning Hooper's Furnish- \ ing Arcade, he came a good deal under the guidance of Mr. Hooper. Mr. Lavis has not entered ostentatiously into public life, biit he/devotes a large amount of his time to philanthropic work, notably trie conducting of the West-End Mission, of which 'he ia the 'chief protagonist amj superintendent. ' Mr. Fred C. Lavis. who for five ycurs has been one of the directors of Hooper'?', entered the business after leaving college. He began at the beginning by serving an apprenticeship in cabinctmaking at Pen gelley's, and afterwards learnt upholster ing and frenchpolishing. He' enlisted early in the war, and spent nearly four years on artive service. :' Mr. F. W. Ellis, the third director, entered the office of Hooper's when Mr. W. C. Hooper was proprietor, and when the business changed hands he became accoun tant. He is an Associate of the Institute of Accountants of South Australia, but he was attracted by the land and took up farming near Loxton. After some years he returned to town, and rejoined the firm of Hooper's, of ?which he became a director when the limited company was formed. 'Marry at Easter.' Few people hear the name of Hooper's mentioned without calling to mind one of the most arresting slogans ever em ployed in business in Adelaide. 'Marry at Easter and Furninh at Hooper's' is more than a slogan; it is a phrase of con siderable compelling force, and many a couple can Bay tha.t the repetition of these words fixed the date of their wedding. Year after year Hooper's have received letters from hopeful young people, saying they have decided to take tlie advice both as regards marrying and furnishing. Three generations of mtny families have accepted the promptings of the advertise ment, and the grandmothers of some cf Hooper's present customers possibly were helped by the happy little phrase to 'name the day.' Whether the slogan goes back so far is not known to the present proprietors of the business, but it is quite true that Hooper's have had tbe custom . of many families for three generations. ' -Though the orifyn of the slogan ia veiled in obscurity it is certainly very old; yet nevertheless it is still very potent. This phrase has assisted to cxnand the business to its present proportions. It has neces sitated tho breaking down of partition walls from time to time and the steady enlarging of Hoopei's premises by the in clusion of additional shops until, along with the expansion attendant upon pro gressive trading and the increase of the State's population, it is now compelling the firm to erect a new and itnposuu emporium.

THE ORIGINAL BUILDING. -. It was in the corner shop of this block that Mr. William Hoopw established the business in I8E6. .

THE ORIGINAL BUILDING. -. It was in the corner shop of this block that Mr. William Hoopw established the business in I8E6. .