Original post 1 August 2020 Always worth another shot ! The laughing face of #MrMoon at #LunaPark; created 1912, which is a long time ago now, and reproduced in fibreglass in 1999 which is what we see now. The broken remains of the original, made out of cement on chicken wire, which had been repaired … Continue reading Luna Park, still smiling →

Original post 2 August 2020 Always wondered why this little building on the far end of Flinders Street (sadly demolished in 2014 for another tower of hotel/ apartments) advertised a fish importers - then, reading a history of Melbourne's fish markets, which notes that by the mid 20thC the various businesses had store rooms and … Continue reading Baltic Imports, Flinders Street, demolished →

4 August 2020 #RitzMansions was built in 1927, designed by #ErnestHLong, and its that very rare thing in Melbs, and apartment block built on the street, with shops at front level, and tall enough for a lift - in fact prewar only a few apartment buildings had a lift, such as Alcaston House in the … Continue reading Ritz Mansions, St Kilda, 1927 →

Original post 3 August 2020 Not my photo - because in my photos taken from the lane (2-3) you can’t see much - this is the slightly famous #DalgetyLane #coachhouse in #StKilda, built for the large very early terrace I posted not long ago at 37 #DalgetyStreet, which for some reason had a block 5 … Continue reading Old coach house, Dalgety Lane, St Kilda →

Original post 29 July 2020 Strathmore on #fitzroystreetstkilda is a nice bit of interwar #SpanishMission, don’t know the date or architect but I do know that it’s built on the front garden of a #VictorianHouse of the same name built in 1881-2, one of four in a row all similar all built at the same … Continue reading Strathmore, Fitzroy Street, 1931 hiding 1881. →

Original post 30 July 2020: There’s these grand terraces across the road from my place in Dalgety Street St Kilda, with huge front gardens, and I’m a bit surprised to learn they’re 1858 ! Called Lansdowne Terrace, they still have their original very simple elegant timber verandahs. There were 6, but three were demolished c1970 … Continue reading Grand Terraces, Dalgety Street, St Kilda, 1858 →

Original post 28 July 2020 Save the MLC building in North Sydney - sign the Petition ! Sydney’s first really big office block, designed by #BatesSmartMcCutcheon, and completed just before their more famous #ICIbuilding, it’s a fine essay in#glasscurtainwall, with the added twist of patterning in the spandrels, giving movement to the otherwise massive wall. … Continue reading Save the MLC building in North Sydney! →

Original post 27 July 2020 The #GreatMelbourneTelescope was installed at the #MelbourneObservatory in 1869 and was one of the biggest in the world - I thought it was long gone, then heard it hadn’t disappeared completely - turns out there’s a huge restoration project putting it back together and recreating parts at #Scienceworks only got … Continue reading The Great Melbourne Telescope (1869) →

Original post 27 July 2020 I didn’t realise that the rebuild of #LaMama after the fire in may 2018 involved a whole new building (even though it was announced a year ago !). Anyway, the #openhousemelbourne video on the topic has the architect #MegWhite (also an actor) giving a bit more detail, that not only … Continue reading La Mama reconstruction plans →

Original post 4 October 2019 This unassuming little building in #HardwareLane is actually one of the first examples of #ArtDeco in Melbs, dating from sept 1930, about 6 months after Harry Norris’s Bourke St Coles, which was the first. #CycloneHouse was built as the showroom for the #cyclonewirefence company, and was designed by #ArthurPurnell, who … Continue reading Cyclone House, Hardware Lane, 1930, one of Melbs first Deco. →