Interesting project I came across in #Elwood a couple of weeks ago (on a rare trip out) - ‘Ensemble’ by @kavellarisurbandesign; apartments starting at $1.5mill. Made me think about neighbourhood character, and how there’s never any requirement to meet it, though Elwood is very mixed, Edwardian houses and postwar flats, but no big bold massive … Continue reading Contemporary development in Elwood →

11 April 2021 The old #RussellTeaRoom on King Street is up for sale; #LolaRussell and her husband George had to move out aged 95 because the side wall has become unstable and they couldn’t afford the repairs. George died soon after, and Lola is now 99 and in a nursing home, so the family now … Continue reading Old Russell Tea Rooms, King Street. →

In the early days of cinema, some venues were open air summer affairs, and there were a number in St Kilda. The #ParadisePictures were created in the (large) front garden of a mansion on the southeast corner of Alfred Square (where the St Moritz was later built) in 1906, and lasted to WW1 (didn’t help … Continue reading Open Air Cinema in Edwardian St Kilda →

So for ages this was #kozminskis; they left in 2017, and now it’s going to be the #HopetounTeaRooms (someone bought the name), a rival to the original, to be renamed #thetearoom1892, which is already operating. This photo from April 2018, here’s what I said then : Beaut highly articulated facade, might even say #arcuated and … Continue reading Was Kozminsky’s now Hopetoun Tea Rooms, 1859 + 1869 + 1919. →

I havnt been back yet to see what it’s like now, but here’s some shots I took in April 2017: A bunch of #bluestone #archways and #entrances at #PentridgePrison. 1 into former hospital, 2,3 the main drive up and down, 4,5 the 'industrial' buildings, since the inmates were usually put to work making mats, number … Continue reading Pentridge bluestone arches, 2017 →

April 2021 Makinganentrance. Not a fan of the scattered 8-12 storey #brownbrick blocks along the middle park/ #stkilda #beachfront, but this one does have a smashing entrance ! (and crisp details, scroll to see whole thing). Possibly by #SolSapir, who did the similar ones at Alfred Sq (which means he did four of these and … Continue reading Another Sol Sapir on Beaconsfield Parade. →

Went wandering around #MelbourneUniversity looking for old studio-type buildings, so checked out #OldEngineering, which turns out to be a #PublicWorks front added in 1914 (with an extra postwar floor, 1940s?) joining up a 1906 building and the original 1899 building to the south by #ReedTappinAndSmart to the south which has its own #watertower ! All … Continue reading Old Engineering, Melbourne University, 1899, 1906, 1914, 1938 →

9 April 2021 The Cafe Australia really was quite extraordinary, equal to Walter & Marion Griffin’s other great interior, the Capitol Theatre. Created in 1916, it was a complete rebuild of the Vienna Cafe, renamed as too German in World War I, when Greek Australian owner Antony Lucas revamped it with a national name and … Continue reading Cafe Australia, 1916, a long lost Griffin masterpiece. →

Did you know the back 2/5 of the RoyalSocietyOfVictoria in Victoria Street is actually 1950s? Repost from this day in 2018: The #RoyalSocietyofVictoria, a club of gentleman explorers and naturalists, who most famously sponsored #BurkeandWills. It was built in 1859, designed by #ReedandBarnes, but only the three north bays; in 1954 nearly 100 years later … Continue reading Royal Society, 1859 + 1954 →

EastbourneHouse, #EastMelbourne, built 1901-3 for Dr Peacock, with professional offices and two attached #terracehouses. The architects are listed as #SydneySmithAndOgg, but this is widely assumed to actually be by #RobertHaddon, who consulted for them and others - and it isn’t like their work at all, but does have a variety of elements considered to be … Continue reading Eastbourne House, 1903, Robert Haddon (probably) →