16 May 2021
Maybe it’s a long bow, but I think this image from #RobinBoyd’s #AustralianUgliness might be inspired by the two modernist office blocks that once stood right across Princes Bridge, facing the Snowden Gardens (site of the Concert Hall). One was finished 1959, the other in 1960, the year the book came out (and both designed by #batessmartmccutcheon).
The taller one was built for Vacuum Oil (later Mobil) and the shorter one for APM (Australian Paper Manufacturers). Mobil had the patterned bricks and a boldly gridded side (and a nice Pegasus statue), while APM had the #butterflyroof (and a jaunty entry canopy).
Mobil got horribly transformed into apartments in 1996, I don’t remember any fuss at all back then, even though mid century was gaining popularity. APM was just replaced by something equally execrable.
Photos all @library_vic, some #wolfgangseivers, colour ones #peterwille, except last 2 #markstrizic.
16 May 2025
An Instagram follower pointed out that the Mobil plant in Williamstown has a Pegasus statue, and yep it’s the same one! Mobil moved to a new HQ a few doors down in Southbank the early 90s, taking the Pegasus with them, putting it in a winter garden thing with no public access (pic from the internet), then moving it to the Altona refinery when they sold in 2016 (streetview).
Storey of Melbourne 