Weis Restaurant Information

Weis Restaurant was originally the home of prominent Toowoomba family, the Harrisons who in 1909 established the Harrison Printing Company in Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, where it still operates today. By the early 1920s, Mark Harrison had established his reputation as a printer, journalist, and editor of the well known and respected Agricultural Journal, "The Producer's Review". During this period, he purchased an acre of land costing £300 for a home site in the relatively undeveloped Range area of the growing city. Walter Burley Griffin, American designer of the nation's capital, Canberra, was first commissioned to design the Harrison Home. An innovative architect, Griffin incorporated a central courtyard in his imaginative plan, but Mark Harrison, more familiar with Toowoomba's climate, rejected the design. The final and existing design was the work of Sydney architect Carlyle Greenwell. The plans were drawn and approved in September 1924. The building contract was signed on the 29th October 1924, by builder Daniel Gallogley, and the house was completed in 1925 at a cost of £3856.00. The home was especially well constructed, with additional expense, to ensure its longevity. A contractor involved in the building was quoted as saying that it "would endure for 200 years without costly repairs". The home was romantically named Alameda, after the suburb in San Francisco where Mark Harrison and his bride, Dorothy Renwick, were wed. It was an impressive home in those days, boasting three bedrooms, a maid's room, study, large living and dining rooms, kitchen and laundry, all under the same roof. The original roof was replaced with Spanish terracotta tiles in February 1929, the first in Toowoomba. Another bedroom was added in February 1935, and the dining room was enlarged in August 1938. Because of the location, town water was not available, and in 1925 a windmill bore was sunk in the adjoining western paddock, now 4 Margaret Street. The original depth of 435ft had to be increased to 475ft in 1937. Mark and Dorothy ...