POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Notes

The sporting goods shop known as 'The Golf House' grew out of a pawn shop run by the Landis family who were Russian emigres, having arrived in Sydney via Broken Hill in 1917. In 1918 Harry Landis purchased the Railway Loan Office at 226 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills where he opened a pawn shop. In 1923 he moved the pawn shop to 216-222 Elizabeth Street, where his sons entered the business. The shop subsequently was divided into two main sections - musical instruments and sporting goods. The Landis family sold the golf business to the professional golfer, Lindsay Sharp in 1985. The sign was designed and owned by by Consolidated Neon which later became Claude Neon. They maintained the sign and leased it to 'The Golf House', later known as 'Sharpies Golf House'. In May 2001 Claude Neon informed Ray Drummond, manager of The Golf House, that it intended to remove the sign from the roof as it had become unsafe. The possibility that this high-profile sign could disappear from its location created widespread concern and several stories appeared in the Sydney media. As a result Sydney City Council and the NSW Heritage Office became involved and meetings took place between the interested parties. Claude Neon agreed to transfer ownership of the sign to The Golf House on certain conditions including that the sign be donated to the City of Sydney at the conclusion of the lease arrangement between Claude Neon and the Golf House. At this time the City Council suggested that the Powerhouse Museum would be a more appropriate recipient of the sign. In 2002 the sign was was listed in the NSW State Heritage Register. The listing noted that the sign was in a perilous condition and required repairs to minimise the danger of a collapse. As a result Starbrite Signs was engaged by Ray Drummond to make repairs to the sign and its supporting frame In 2004 the Golf House closed and its building at 216-222 Elizabeth Street was purchased by Trinvass Pty Ltd which submitted a development application to Sydney City Council. At the suggestion of the City Council and the NSW Heritage Office, Peter Israel of PTI Architects approached the Powerhouse Museum on behalf of Trinvass to acquire and remove the sign. An acquisition proposal was approved by Powerhouse management. However the removal of the sign had not been approved by the Heritage Office; the sign remained in situ. In 2007 the City Council ordered that the sign was unsafe and had to be dismantled. The sign was removed from the roof (the sign's frame remained there) and stored in the building below. Council believed it was 'important that the Sharpie's sign remain in its current location' and required the sign to be 're-constructed' and re-installed on any new building on the site. This condition meant that Trinvass' DAs for the site were rejected by Council. However corrosion of the sign elements meant that its reconstruction was impractical. In 2013 City Council agreed that a restoration of the sign to the site would require the construction of a copy sign, and hence that the sign could be donated to the Powerhouse. In addition, an application was made to the Heritage Office to alter the sign's heritage listing to permit its removal to the Powerhouse. This application was approved in November 2013 permitting the sign's removal to the Powerhouse.