Original post 7 January 2015:

This fantastic #venetiangothic style shop building in Drummond Street Carlton is very famous for the things on top – I was once told they’re ‘kanga-griffins’, wonderfully Australian #victoriana, but then someone else said ‘no they’re just traditional #medieval #chimera’. Whatever they are they’re great, and very unusual, in fact I can’t think of anything similar. Being medieval fits the Gothic style of the rest, with those great pointed arched windows in polychrome brick. It was designed by Inskip and Robertson, and was built in 1889 for Mr Welch of Ball & Welch, who had one of the 2 shops as part of a growing grocery business, and went on to build an enormous department store in the city ten years later.

Always wondered why so grand in a street of houses and warehouses behind the shops of lygon street, and I guess it was because the upper floor was for the local business association called the Carlton Club.

It’s now Masanis, a very nice restaurant, from where you can see the lovely aesthetic style leadlight in the upper part of the very large and intact shop windows.

Anecdote: the #castiron verandah was removed like so n many in the 50s, and rebuilt in the 80s, and I happened to be walking past one day in the 80s and watched a truck reverse out of the lane on the left, and knock the post out! Luckily it didn’t all fall down.

Update January 2024: two of the kanga-chimera-whatever have lost their upper parts in a recent restoration ! The central ladies head also gone. Info and photo thanks Jo Waite/ @auntyfrank instagram.

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