Original post 21 June 2020 #YuleHouse, designed by #OakleyAndParkes, was built in 1932, in the depths of the #GreatDepression, because the previous building burnt down, and the insurance paid out. Sometimes said to be the first #ArtDeco building in Melb, it’s the first fully Art Deco complete with speed lines, deco lettering and stepped bits, … Continue reading Yule House, 1932 →

Original post 18 June 2020 Lots of excellent #brickwork on the #CorpsOfSignals #DrillHall, #SouthMelbourne, 1935-6, designed by Commonwealth architect #GeorgeHallandal. The whole design manages to be both impressive yet domestic in scale, and also both classical in a rather Georgian / #Lutyens kind of way, but also #ArtDeco. A couple of years ago it was … Continue reading Corps of Signals Drill Hall, Albert Park, 1936. →

Original post 18 June 2020 This is St Joseph’s Church in #QuarryHill, #Bendigo, designed by #BatesSmart, and built in 1964, and i think it’s possibly the best minimalist modernist church in Victoria...but I’ve only got these photos from the Bates Smart book, and streetview ...so if anyone’s in Bendigo or going soon or knows it, … Continue reading Minimalist modern church, St Jospehs, Quarry Hill, Bendigo, 1964 →

Original post 16 June 2020 Would you believe the State Government is selling a site on Flinders Street that would result in the #GasAndFuelBuilding Mk 2 ? Having demolished one of Melbourne's biggest planning mistakes in 1996, the sale of the strip of railway land at the other end on Spring Street with only the … Continue reading Gas & Fuel all over again ! →

Original post 15 June 2020 Images 6 September 2019 #Oberwyl, Burnett Street, #StKilda, 1856. Described as #Regency, as seen in the fine proportions and delicate detailing, though more columns and elaboration than the English originals (would have been even more charming with the upper level #verandah that I’m assuming was once there, presumably #castiron, though … Continue reading Oberwyl, St Kilda, 1856 →

13 June 2020 This is the 1872 #ChineseMissionChurch in Little Bourke, by Crouch & Wilson, a great example of #polychromebrick, 3 colours, highlighting voissoirs, quoining, diaper patterns, the lot! I’m now thinking Melb might be the capital of polychrome like this, though there’s examples elsewhere, England, France, Netherlands, Germany even Sweden, but can’t find anything … Continue reading Polychrome Brick – who did it first, who did it better ? →

10 June 2020 #StKildaParkPrimarySchool, possibly the most compactly vertical of the many late 19thC #primaryschools built in Victoria after the 'free and compulsory' 1872 Education Act. All the schools in the first decade were #GothicRevival, mostly in #polychromebrick, getting more elaborate into the 1880s. By then they’re all said to be designed by #HenryBastow, chief … Continue reading St Kilda Park State School, 1882 →

Original post 12 June 2020 Photos 30 April 2018 A great little #townhouse in #NeptunePlace, a site created in about 1996 when a large office building and carpark in the middle of #StKilda was demolished and subdivided. Anyone know the architect? Update : it’s the Connolly House by #LindsayHolland, and won the top ‘Harold desbowe … Continue reading Modern Revival townhouse, Lindsay Holland, 2001. →

Original post 7-8 June 2020 Photos July 2018 A great pair in #MitfordStreet, Elwood, similar proportions and both #spanishstyle - Santa Fe and Las Palmas both 1929 by builder/designer JH Soderberg. ‘Santa Fe’, #MitfordStreet, #Elwood, lovely #SpanishStyle, complete with #barleytwistcolumns to the front balconies. Sold as a lot in 2019, and looks like maybe still … Continue reading Interwar flats, Mitford Street, Elwood →

Original post 7 June 2020 Photo July 2018 Until recently I wouldn’t have given this kind of block a second look, but this one at 57 Mitford Street Elwood had nice details like patterned mosaic tiles and brickwork, and wrought iron, a bit of interest on an otherwise modern design. Probably 1960s. Big windows, reasonably … Continue reading Mid Century Modern in Elwood →