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 →

February 2026 The ‘Glaciarium’ in City Road Southbank was Melbourne’s first ice rink, built in 1906. Entrepreneur Harry Reid got architects Ussher & Kemp to give it a bit of style (but not much), and include a basement cold store for extra income. Melburnians immediately took to the fun of ice skating, or you could … Continue reading The first ice rink →

February 2026 Not much to look at really, and apparently it’s gone now - but this was the Hub Arcade, next to the back of the Royal Arcade, built 1965, no architect known. It had a tiled facade (not a very nice colour though), a nice mix of materials inside, and it was a quirky … Continue reading Hub Arcade →

February 2026 Very grand very unusual house pair in Mozart Street St Kilda, built 1890, architect unknown. 19thC house pairs are more common in St Kilda than anywhere else, but these are on a relatively wide an shallow block, and not exactly centrally located, though opposite the town hall. Bold or maybe cheap example of … Continue reading Queen Anne all round →

February 2026 There’s this great little collection of modern houses in Wangaratta designed by Grounds Romberg & Boyd (possibly mainly Robin Boyd) that’s been in the news because one of the houses is under threat. They’re in a cul-de-sac called Bruck Court which was created in 1953-6 by and on the grounds of Bruck Mills, … Continue reading Modernist Wangaratta →

February 2026 This is the inside of the kiosk at the end of Kerferd Road facing the Albert Park beach - didn’t realise it had nice brickwork arches etc behind all the glass. I always thought it didn’t look like much from outside and was an unattractive spot for a cafe. And in fact it’s … Continue reading Kerferd Road kiosk →

February 2026 This little striking Brutalist thing in Grattan Street opposite the Uni was built as the offices of Eggleston MacDonald and Secomb, 1964. Which makes it pretty much the earliest example of concrete Brutalism in Victoria, a bit ahead of the famous Total carpark in Russell Street, completed 1965. I quite like the expressed … Continue reading Early Brutal →

February 2026 This remarkable house in Ivanhoe popped up on Facebook in a rather good photo by David Landis-Morse - with those cubic volumes and flats roofs it’s very European Modernist, rarely seen in houses in Melbourne - so I spent a pleasant hour researching something I only vaguely knew about. Built in 1937, it’s … Continue reading Jennings Modern →

February 2026 This great bit of very busy Gothic Revival once stood in Cathedral Place, East Melbourne. These are the only pics I could find of it. Im pretty sure this was the convent for the Sisters of Charity who started the Catholic Ladies College in a converted building facing onto St Andrew’s Place behind … Continue reading Catholic Ladies College →

February 2026 It was Pride March today in St Kilda, and on the edge of the Catani Gardens is one of those historic markers - and when I leaned in to read it I was very surprised to see it was all about a gay beat toilet block that once existed in the little gardens … Continue reading Historic beat in St Kilda →