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.
