15 September 2017:

The Mail Exchange, 1917, designed by Commonwealth Architect #JSMurdoch. Very grand for a place to sort mail, and much lauded as a first of what we later called #StrippedClassical, derived from the US version of #BeauxArts, cos the architects were often Paris trained at the Ecole de Beaux Arts. There’s also a dash of #EdwardianBaroque, namely the paired #ioniccolumns, plus a bit of typically #EdwardianMelbourne #redbrick. John Smith Murdoch was way ahead of everyone else in oz with this, I suppose by looking to the US as well as the UK. The lobby is even more stripped, with the concrete frame expressed and stylised details much like he would later use on Parliament House, Canberra. Oh and there was (is?) a tunnel connecting through to Spencer Street Station since the Mail went by train for a long time. Found a pic of sorting the post in 1918 – I thought there’d be big machines, but no it was a whole lotta men sorting into what look like #wicker baskets (The #WeeklyTimes, 1 June, 1918). Later it did have conveyor belts I think, long gone, now it’s all offices. B&W pic 1937 @naagovau

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