Menora
In 1954, with the establishment of official suburban boundaries, the new off-shoot from Mount Lawley was named "Menora" in honour of an old theatre of that name which was located within its borders. Further support for the name was provided by the local Jewish community for whom the Menorah holds special significance. From an aerial point of view, a section of the roads are shaped like the Menorah.
Menora is home to a large Jewish community (7.2%), the heart of which is the Perth Hebrew Congregation. It is close to the Carmel Jewish School and other Kosher facilities like the "Kosher Food Centre" (in Menora) and the Kosher "Besh Fresh" cafe.
The planning of the area was influenced by developments in the field of town planning that occurred predominantly in the 1920s in Perth. During thisperiod there was considerable interest in the Town Planning Movement, which culminated in 1928 with the enactment of the Town Planning Act of 1928. The first town planning scheme for the area was published in 1937and included provisions such as the restriction of the construction of flats to parts of Walcott Street and Adair Parade. Although subdivided earlier, settlement in this area continued into the 1950s and 60s with some more recent development occurring.
Menora is a very significant, substantially intact residential area planned on Garden Suburb planning principles. It is characterised by landscaped parks and streets with open grassed verges and mature trees. The curved road layout provides attractive vistas to parks and streets. The area is characterised by large homes from the 1930s to the 1960s, many of high architectural quality, set in attractive established gardens which are generally landscaped to compliment the design of the house. There are a number of fine examples of a range of architectural styles including Inter- War Californian Bungalow and Functionalist and houses with elements of Spanish Mission styles.
The road pattern in Menora varies markedly from the pattern of the adjacent Mount Lawley area, which is based on a rectangular grid. The road pattern of Menora is based on Garden Suburb town planning principles and comprises a series of crescents incorporating a series of small parks. The basis of these principles is that the suburb is designed as a whole community with a focus around a shopping or community centre and where residential lots are designed with access to areas of public open space.
Street blocks are subdivided into a series of residential lots with approximately equal street frontages. Residential lots are around 840 to 1000 square metres in area with some variation and irregularity in block size as a result of the circular street pattern. The area contains some internal park areas at the backs of houses which is characteristic of Garden Suburb planning and rare, but not unique, in the context of metropolitan Perth. The subdivision pattern remains substantially as originally planned with no amalgamation or subdivision of original lots.
Houses in Menora were constructed predominantly in the period 1930 to the 1960s. Generally houses are single storey, although there are some larger two-storey homes throughout the area, and architectural styles reflect the period of construction. Examples of housing styles include Inter- War Spanish Mission, Functionalist and Californian Bungalow. There are a number of fine residences in the Inter-War Functionalist style which are rare in the context of metropolitan Perth.
The bungalow became popular in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. Expressed in earthy materials, these homes were low-slung and planned for a casual lifestyle, especially in the temperate climate of California.
Australian architects were designing individual interpretations of the Californian Bungalow, during the early years of the twentieth century and by the early 1920s many builders had embraced the style.
In Australia, the Inter-war California Bungalow was generally built in brick with chunky carpentry details, rather than the fully timber construction that characterised the style in the United States. Residences built in this style are usually free-standing, single storey set on suburban blocks with informal lawns and gardens, often using natural materials and finishes.
The Inter-War Spanish Mission was introduced to Australia in the 1920s and draws on architectural styles influenced by Spanish colonial architects in both California and Florida.
The style is reminiscent of the Spanish Romanesque and Baroque styles. Residences built in this style are usually asymmetrical in appearance and feature external walls with light coloured, stucco or rendered surfaces with finishes that mimic textured handcrafted surfaces typical of the adobe construction of the Spanish missions. They are usually free standing and set in landscaped settings with exotic flora that has extensive use of palms.
The Inter-War Functionalist style was a popular European style during the 1920s and 1930s that completely separated itself from styles of the past and instead focused on the ideas of functionalism and clean lines . It was popularised through the influences of the modern movement and has been applied in Australia to a range of buildings such as homes, commercial buildings and cinemas.
The style is typically characterised by simple, geometric shapes, light colours, large glass areas with openings often occurring in horizontal bands giving a building a streamline effect.
