Ascot Vale Uniting Church

The Ascot Vale Uniting Church was completed in 1897 as a Presbyterian Church to seat a congregation of 600. Throughout the 1980s its numbers grew as a result of several church closures in the surrounding areas, with their members being absorbed within the Ascot Vale Uniting Church congregation.

Ascot Vale Uniting Church circa 1930. fig. 11

Pre-2004 Church plan

ASCOT VALE UNITING CHURCH

In 2004, an act of arson destroyed all but the façade, the last standing remnant of the once grand structure. It now stands as a folly in the landscape, somewhere between ruin, semi-preserved and complete.

fig. 12 Demolition and clean-up following the August 29, 2004 arson attack fig. 13

fig. 14

ASCOT VALE UNITING CHURCH

Ascot Vale Uniting Church as it stands today (Point Cloud). The facade at the front is the last standing remnant of the original Ascot Vale Uniting Church, while that behind it was built following the 2004 arson attack to serve the church congregation. Today, it is used as a conference space and child care, while Sunday service is still held there for a small congregation.

ASCOT VALE UNITING CHURCH

ISSUES

TRAFFIC LIGHTS 519M TRAFFIC LIGHTS 150M

With a large section of the space being occupied by parking space that is mostly devoid of cars 6 days out of 7, the site is largely underutilized in comparison with its former self. While once at the centre of local community, the present building serves as a childcare centre and conference room, neither of which are scarce within the suburb. As the surrounding suburb grew around it, access to the site has become increasingly problematic, with the ever-busy Maribyrnong Rd. cutting off direct access from the southern-adjacent road. To access the site safely, one must use the traffic lights 150m to the east, or 519m to the west.