June 2026

Rather delightful plaster ceiling in a gelati shop in Elizabeth Street near Little Bourke. It looks very Edwardian, maybe c1900, with a little bit of Art Nouveau and a lot of foliage. Its survived various shop uses, but I think lately saved itself by being so nice, since it was not only kept but restored in 2018 by @oldmelbourneplaster (photos from their instagram). The shopfront looks 1960s.

The building itself is pretty old, built 1870 as Knights Stores, in a relatively early example of polychrome Gothic – not a very delicate example though. This part of it was Hood & Co Chemist in 1884. The corner building was later known as Edinburgh Chambers, and Graeme Butler took a good pic in 1984 before it was painted. Would look so much nicer restored.

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