What is significant? The shops at 349-355 Keilor Road, Essendon, are significant. They were designed in 1948 by WAM Blackett of architectural practice Blackett, Churcher & Blackett, but only completed in 1951.
The shops are a two-storey brick terrace. All shops have intact shopfronts with Roman bricks to the stallboards and piers, recessed entries, chrome-metal framed shop windows, and ribbed-glass highlights. They share a continuous cantilevered verandah. The first floor level is constructed with cream brick between the windows and clinker brick above with a dog-tooth frieze at the top of the parapet. Nos. 351 and 355 retain timber-framed windows with sashes around a fixed pane. All windows have shallow concrete hoods. The two outer shops are set off by short brick piers.
Later alterations and additions are not of heritage significance.
How is it significant? The shops are of local architectural significance to the City of Moonee Valley.
Why is it significant? They are architecturally significant as representative post-war shops constructed as part of the development of Keilor Road after World War II. In the area they are distinguished by their high level of intactness, design interest created by a variety of cladding materials, and their landmark quality due to the size of the row. (Criterion D)
The shops are of architectural historical interest for their associations with the architectural practice Gawler, Churcher & Blackett.