12 January 2024:

Some Art Deco niceness in Bank Street South Melbourne, half hidden behind a tree, so I almost didn’t notice it. A 1936 refacing of an 1880s pub, designed by F Morsby (info artdeco blog spot). Revamping pubs like this was pretty common in the 1920s and 1930s. Sold in 2019 and then closed, seems to be now apartments though I can’t find any sale or lease ads, just a few of inside before the same, no early features left there. All white of course, so details not so obvious, though probably all cream or grey originally. No idea why the sign is only on one half – as if they knew the tree was coming ! Also, it’s not exactly next to the town hall, 2 blocks away. 1981 photo from St Kilda Historical Society ‘Pots Pubs and Punters’ page.

Thanks to a follower, I now know that the Town Hall Hotel has been transformed into a single home, not facaded for tiny apartments. The work is by and for Ed and Edwina Glenn, as featured in homestolove.com. They’ve actually kept whatever features were left, such as pressed metal ceilings. It’s mostly white (yawn) but the powder room is pink ! And the bar and master bed are in a sort of dark teal. The article also says that the pub was largely vacant for about a decade.

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