Original post 13 April 2020

Repost 2020: Just mad – both the building, next to the Town Hall, and that it was demolished in 1968 – by the #MelbourneCityCouncil. It was built in 1888-89 as the HQ of the rapidly expanding #TemperanceAndGeneral Mutual Life Assurance, and the architect was #AlfredDunn. He really went to town with layers of detail, and a tall mansard, topped with cast iron sunflowers, though from the other direction it was just a tall blank wall. Alfred Dunn was only 23 when he won the competition, then went on to do some other great things, but died of TB aged only 29.

T&G moved up to their huge Collins Street building in 1928, and the City bought the old one as offices to rent, calling it Town Hall Chambers, and they added a couple of floors on the back half. It was demolished pending various civic centre / office tower proposals including the city square, but this site just became a carpark until a proper plaza was built in 1994. For a long time I could only find pics of parts of it, but now there’s plenty around. The first image is from @heraldsunphoto_retro 1962, others @library_vic, some from the great Karl Halla who wandered the city in the 60s and 70s snapping almost everything interesting. His photos are dated 1968, as it was being demolished by the famous Whelan the Wrecker.

It’s another example of my theory that the more wild the building was, the more likely it was to be demolished, eg the Federal Hotel, #APIbuilding, Tivoli Theatre. In fact there arnt any left that were as wild as this or the Premier Permanent, posted recently.

Side note – the @library_vic has a design for the building by William Pitt which is just as wild, though a bit top heavy, but he didn’t even get second or third prize.

One of the more insane designs from the mind of #WilliamPittArchitect – this was his entry for the #TemperanceAndGeneral society HQ competition in 1887, but he didn’t win, in fact neither second or third ! Can’t have been because it was toooo elaborate considering what won, but maybe the thought of giant winged unicorns on top a bit too much ? [update : it’s a #Wyvern, though the use elevation has a stork option] And its just a bit #topheavy if you ask me. Pitt was only in his early 30s, having arrived with a splash winning the comp for the Melb Coffee Palace in 1881 when he was 24 (!) and the of course doing the #PrincessTheatre in 1885-6.

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