March 2026 The Maori Chief Hotel on Moray Street South Melbourne, looking splendidly prominent - but also rather forlorn, since it appears to be closed. It was built in 1875, replacing an earlier pub of 1867 (wasn’t that old, maybe it was a little timber shack?) and already sported the exotic name. Nobody knows exactly … Continue reading Māori Chief Hotel →

March 2026 Various photos of Bourke Street from near Queen Street in the 1940s. I know they must be after 1940, because that’s when the last cable tram ran, replaced by double decker buses. In the first image the rough surface must be the wood block pavers which were used to infill the road between … Continue reading Bourke Street double decker buses →

March 2026 The grand Victorian mansion Coonac in Clendon Road Toorak is in the real estate news because the new owner has applied to build an extension - but it’s really a second house, with entry living dining and five bedrooms and 20 car basement garage (left of first pic). It’s clearly a simple version … Continue reading Coonac →

March 2026 Stage 3 of Caulfield Village, much more attractive than the other two, but also much taller. Designed by @aboutsjb, it’s feels nicer I think because there lots of bright red brick (tiles), and they form a solid base, with the more open towers in lighter colours which are set back (with a corner … Continue reading Caulfield ‘Village’ →

Match 2026 Architect Daryl Jackson died a couple of weeks ago; he was a major name when I was doing my archi degree in the early 1980s, and instead of posting about him I had a go at improving his Wikipedia page - and that reminded me of this fabbo Brutalist project, the 1973 YWCA … Continue reading Australian Brutalist in Fiji →

March 2026 Repost from 2014: A row of four most unusual #shophouse / #terracehouses. Built 1888 for local notable chemist Cuthbert Blackett, it was designed by Tappin Gilbert & Dennehy in a free interpretation of the very new to Melbourne Queen Anne style (seeing as they didn’t originally have inset #balconies like this). The architects … Continue reading Gertrude Street Queen Anne →

March 2026 Further info on the Chapel Street store a couple of days ago - it was built for ‘the well known drapers’ Brown Corke & Co, who seem to have been mainly in the Goulburn Valley area. But more interesting is the date, I would have guessed 1905, with that great two tone Edwardian … Continue reading Edwardian inventor. →

February 2026 This fabulously elaborate Spanish facade is still there- well, mostly. It’s at 261 Chapel Street, Prahran, and the old photo dated 1934 shows it was a Coles Store. Since Harry Norris did many Coles stores, and he also did elaborate Spanish styles (eg the Royce in St Kilda Road) maybe he did this … Continue reading Coles, Chapel Street →

February 2026 A rather striking #publictoilet that once stood in the Fitzroy Gardens until just on 20 years ago; the first photo is one I have left over from a @nationaltrustvic exhibition on historic public toilets in 1998. Lovely overlapping brick and stone walls, with a dramatic cantilevered roof supported on a single post. This … Continue reading Stylish toilet, gone →

February 2026 Hobson’s Bay Tower, on Beaconsfield Parade Middle Park, in Dec last year. Not my favourite high rise, but it does do some interesting things, with two projecting bays on all sides and three sets of insets to emphasise the way they project. I found a reference that it was built in 1980, and … Continue reading Late Sol Sapir →