Original post 2 May 2020 Photos 20 September 2019 I remember when this was still #MalcolmReid furniture in the 90s (I think), with walk-through display windows at ground level. In 1999 it was converted into I think it was service apartments (it’s now a hotel) and it’s not a bad job, especially considering it wasn’t … Continue reading Malcolm Reid furniture, Bourke Street, 1939 →

Original post 3 May 2020 Photos 12 September 2019 I always thought this was two blocks of flats that happened to be squeezed next to each other, but actually #DalgetyCourt (in my street in #StKilda) was all designed by the same architect, 17 years apart ! The right part is 1919, an early block of … Continue reading Howard Lawson in St Kilda, 1919 + 1936 →

Original post 2 May 2020 The history of naming places - I hadn’t realised it was quite so diverse, though it boils down to - early officials and early settlers, sometimes their relatives, royalty, places in London, England, Ireland and also Europe, lots of aboriginal word sources, and a horse, a bird, the Greek word … Continue reading Some place names of Melbourne →

Original post 2 May 2020 I was looking for something nice to post, but I found this instead, which still makes me mad - this great 1928 mural (actually an oil painting) by #NapierWaller graces/d the vestibule of the grand #TandGbuilding in #CollinsStreet, and was open to the street for everyone to enjoy - but … Continue reading Napier Waller Mural, T&G building, 1928 →

Original post 1 May 2020 The Ritz Hotel in #FitzroyStreetStKilda was built in 1922, possibly designed by #ErnestHLong, who later designed the similar #RitzMansions next door. The new hotel replaced the old wooden Cricket Club Hotel (previously the British Family), had hot & cold water to every room, and a dining room for 400. It … Continue reading Ritz Hotel, St Kilda →

Original post 1 May 2020 Another book I hadn't read: Great Properties of Country Victoria, published in 2015, mostly #VictorianMansions you might see in Hawthorn or Caulfield but they're in the #WesternDistrict. Don’t know them terribly well because very hard to visit ! Some of the most interesting Edwardian era houses in Victoria are out … Continue reading Dalvui, Western District homestead, 1908 →

Original post 30 April 2020 Love this image taken in the 1950s for a history iof #JohnsAndWaygood (written by #GeoffreyBlainey) which shows an Edwardian era lift complete with lift operator and seat - many of the earliest lifts in Melbs and Syd were operated by #hydraulicpower, which pushed the lift up slowly, hence the seat. … Continue reading Melbourne’s hydraulic lifts →

Original post 29 April 2020 Photos 5 March A case of #whywouldyoubother #facadism in Lennox St Richmond. I seem to recall this was a stables (and there’s another facade 20m away), perhaps there was a lot of timber structure between ? I think this happened in the 90s. Update : yes Howell’s Livery, 1884.

Original post 27 April 2020 Lost Melbourne part 22- this is Prell’s Building, named after the developer Wilhelm Prell, who built this in 1889 on the south east corner of Queen Street and Flinders Lane. It was designed by #FMWhite in a very, um, efficient form of a grid of regular matching openings that could … Continue reading Lost Victorian Skyscrapers – Prells Buildings, Queen Street →

Original post 27 April 2020 Tidying up my bookshelves and finding all these books I bought and then never read ! This one, published by the #RoyalHistoricalSocietyofVictoria has loads of photos of Melbs I havnt seen before, or only blurry old-time published ones, like this marvellous #MughalStyle house in #EastMelbourne, which was on Albert Street, … Continue reading Lost Melbourne, Moorish Style →