Pleased to see the refurbished and reopened #QueensHall at the #StateLibraryVictoria has the original furniture! Which I now see are at least 3 different designs, but all nicely old, varnished and worn. complete with old graffiti. They’re on the sides when they used to be all in the middle, with book stacks on the sides- but there’s now far fewer shelves, and they’re lower, Im told so as not to have hidden corners, so the whole space now feels much larger, in fact it feels a bit empty ! I now realise that the modern tables are in the middle so that they can be moved around when it’s leased out for functions. It’s also rather light and bright, with those polished floorboards instead of carpet. And I’m not sure about those #LEDlightstrips under the balconies, a bit too modern. The central section is the emptiest, and the most altered, originally having more columns, removed when the matching columns below in the lobby were removed (not sure when, I think 1913), theres now just long plastered steel beams front and back. But still, it all looks great.

• victorian