Month: February 2020

NOT heritage colours, Elizabeth Street

NOT heritage colours, Elizabeth Street

First posted Instagram 3 Nov 2019. 😮 This #colourscheme on the old #AngusAndRobertson building on #ElizabethStreet has just been revealed (thanks for the photo @tristan_davies) - it’s cheery but so very wrong ! Apparently it’s some kind of mistake, and they (not sure who, but @plusarchitecture are moving in) certainly didn’t get a heritage permit. … Continue reading NOT heritage colours, Elizabeth Street

Collingwood Tech, 1938

Collingwood Tech, 1938

2 February 2025 Photos of what’s now Collingwood Yards in Johnston Street I took in 2014 and 2020, plus two recent ones. Fabulous striking entry, with an arched rising sun motif, and scalloped brickwork above, a fine effort by Public Works chief architect Percy Everett, completed in 1939 as the Collingwood Technical School. It is … Continue reading Collingwood Tech, 1938

What’s upstairs ? Architects of course.

What’s upstairs ? Architects of course.

Original post 7 November 2019 Didn’t look like there was anything up this stair on Crossley Street above those tiny shops, but of course its an architects office ! #HerbertAndMason, that’s Lucinda Mason, never head of them but they do shops, extensions, and hospitality eg Gingerboy (across the road) and #KingAndGodfrey. Seems to me theres … Continue reading What’s upstairs ? Architects of course.

Late Modernism in Bourke Street – Eagle House, 1972

Late Modernism in Bourke Street – Eagle House, 1972

Original post 2 February 2020 Photos 1 October 2019 Eagle House in #BourkeStreet was completed in 1972, and replaced #OxfordChambers of the previous post. Designed by supreme Modernists #YunckenFreeman it’s actually #LateModern, when it was all about slick surfaces, and this is the stand out example, and so it’s on the #VictorianHeritageRegister. I nominated it … Continue reading Late Modernism in Bourke Street – Eagle House, 1972

Oxford Chambers, Bourke Street, 1889-1970

Oxford Chambers, Bourke Street, 1889-1970

First posted 1 February 2020 While I’m on #lostmelbourne, there’s the famous ones, but there were quite a lot of ornate #highvictorian ‘chambers’ like this that mushroomed in the 1880s and disappeared in the 50s-70s, mostly with only a few photos now in archives - and @heraldsunphoto_retro has a great collection slowly filling up their … Continue reading Oxford Chambers, Bourke Street, 1889-1970

Australia Hotel, Collins Street 1939, glamorous and gay.

Australia Hotel, Collins Street 1939, glamorous and gay.

First posted 31 January 2020 The Hotel Australia, in the middle of #CollinsStreet, opened June 1939, and hard to believe, but it was demolished as late as 1989. I remember being shocked when I heard (this was just before I started working at the NationalTrust), I guess it wasn’t highly regarded architecturally because it was … Continue reading Australia Hotel, Collins Street 1939, glamorous and gay.

Chevron Hotel, St Kilda Road, 1934, high class back in the day.

Chevron Hotel, St Kilda Road, 1934, high class back in the day.

First posted 30 January 2020: The #ChevronHotel in #StKildaRoad wasnt heritage listed an nearly demolished in the early 2000s for a high rise, but surprisingly it didn’t happen (helicopter flight paths ?), instead the main part was kept as apartments, a rear wing knocked off, and 10 storey blocks built on the inside edges of … Continue reading Chevron Hotel, St Kilda Road, 1934, high class back in the day.