28 January 2021

The Agriculture Department once stood in #StAndrewsPlace #EastMelbourne. Built in 1948-51, it was designed by my fave #PercyEverett, Public Works Chief Architect, in his signature dynamic modern form, in this case stepped to suit the angled site with opposing horizontals and verticals – very retro for the date but very stylish ! I was shocked when #heritagevictoria said it was ok to demolish in 1996, partly because it was only accidentally listed as part of the precinct, and partly because the state government’s own heritage buildings section manager said it was poorly designed (too much glass apparently) and it interrupted the 19thC qualities of the precinct, which they were going to restore. There’s now a lot of garden there, and they did recreate the 1907 classical rear elevation of 3 Treasury Place, but it’s not that interesting. Pics 2-6 are scans of my own slides using a free app, not that great but you get the picture. First pic is from 1951, last pic current streetview.

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