Repost 2018:
The splendid 1891 #MelbourneTramwaysandOmnibusCo at the west end of #BourkeStreet – just repaired by current occupants, the charity #DonkeyWheelHouse. They recreated the lost tiles in the parapet that spell out MTOC in intertwined gothic letters, lovely. It’s an interesting bit of #gothicrevival by #TwentymanandAskew (who normally did classical like The Block Arcade), and it was from here that Melbourne’s new and extensive and privately run #cabletram system was run, and then the electric trams too right into the 90s (when I had a look, what a place to work !). Disappointing that they didn’t quite get the parapet stone right, no upper lip, and my goodness the shopfronts could be better ! Looks like a verandah removed but actually it didn’t have one originally.
Repost 2018: The fabbo lobby of the #MelbourneTranwaysandOmnibusCo building in #BourkeStreet, now #DonkeywheelHouse. A lot of the interior is original to 1891, just as #TwentymanandAskew designed it. The Tudor style lift enclosure is a very rare surviving 19thC one (probably it was an #hydrauliclift originally), replaced in the 1920s, and that lift interior still there, also very rare ! Then there’s the great gothic entry, #signboard and even an #aestheticmovement #stainedglasswindow. I know that there’s also an atmospheric basement, great panelled front offices, and big open space on top with cast iron roof supports.
11 October 2022
Seems like not long ago that charity Donkey Wheel House bought this great building, but it was 2009! They’ve since restored and repaired it, and now they’re selling, maybe for $25mill. Guess current charity tenants like Big Issue will have to move on. Office interiors are from Colliers real estate.
I update Sept 2023: doesn’t seem to have sold.
Storey of Melbourne 