June 2026 There must have been some competition amongst the backs in the late 19th C in the Glenferrie /Burwood Road precinct, maybe it was indeed a wealthy area - the ES&A did their Gothic one in 1873 (pic 9), then in 1890 the Melb Savings Bank did their elaborate one opposite the town hall … Continue reading Glenferrie Road shops →

June 2026 A great bit of 1873 Gothic Revival in Burwood Road Hawthorn - which feels a bit enigmatic, since it’s near but not part of the shopping strip down Glenferrie Road. It was actually built as a bank, for the ES&A, which had decided to go for impressive Gothic instead of the usual sober … Continue reading Glenferrie Gothic →

June 2026 1866 vs 2015. This terrace on the corner of Brunswick & Gertrude has been here since 1856, making it one of the oldest still around. You might have thought terraces were as old as Melb but though the first ones were around 1840 in the cbd, soon also appearing in the closest parts … Continue reading The other Royal Terrace →

June 2026 This development on the site of Leo’s supermarket in Kew Junction was recently approved by the State Govt, and I’m surprised there hasn’t been more hoo-ha, I guess that’s what happens when there’s few details to see and no opportunity to comment. The renders are all just slices, rather than the whole thing. … Continue reading Big blocks in Kew →

June 2026 Glenferrie Station - part of my teenage school years, and not much changed ! Built 1916 as part of regrading the line to Camberwell, it was designed with very generous proportions, in a bold but simple Edwardian style, designed by Victorian Railways architect Edward Ballard, under JW Hardy. I love the huge arches, … Continue reading Glenferrie Station →

May 2026 A very unusual almost whacky house in Union Street Richmond, a narrow side street off Bridge Road top of the hill hear Lennox. It was built c1859 for surgeon James Robertson, who may have designed it himself, or it was a builder, it doesn’t look like anything architects of the day would have … Continue reading Early mini mansion on Richmond Hill →

May 2026 The unfeasibly elaborate Royal Hotel on Nelson Place Williamstown was built at the height of the boom in 1890, when the Williamstown Advertiser thought the nearby piers and docks would put licensee Mr DeWardt ‘on the right road to fortune’. His architect was T Anthoness, who didn’t do much I can find except … Continue reading Royal Hotel Williamstown →

May 2026 The very nice if relatively plain ES&A bank on Nelson Place in Williamstown was built in 1873, and must’ve been by far the grandest building there until larger shops were built in the 1880s. Gothic style banks were very rare amongst the much more numerous Classical ones; this was designed by Leonard Terry, … Continue reading Nelson Place Williamstown →

May 2026 I briefly touched on the 1931 Howey Court in the Sportsgirl post, thinking there’d be much more, but there isn’t really. It’s in a couple of good photos and some street shots, there was an article when it was announced in Feb 1930, another when the arcade opened 5 months later, and some … Continue reading Howey Court →

May 2026 If you go to Dymocks in Collins Street, you should look up ! This rather speccy atrium /shopping centre was built as the Sportsgirl Centre, 1991. I’d forgotten it was quite so fully richly Postmodern. Four levels of faintly classical ‘stone’ panels, deeply coved edges, curving travertine floors, clustered brass balustrades, interesting lights, … Continue reading Sportsgirl Centre →