Author: Rohan Storey
December 2019 #BoerWar Memorial, #AlfredSquare, #StKilda, 1905; designed by #ArthurPeck, though its assumed that it’s probably also/mostly #RobertHaddon, who consulted a lot. He was almost the only architect in Victoria to fully embrace #ArtNouveau, and this has all the sinuous lines and vegetal motifs of that style. Also, it’s green, so green. No idea if … Continue reading St Kilda Boer War Memorial – Art Nouveau by the beach.
#FootscrayTownHall, #JosephPlottel, 1936. A delightful essay in a very American mode, a combo of Bryzantine and Florentine, it’s more about effect than an accurate style, with lovely variegated brickwork and very crisp detailing in buff-coloured #faience, which goes a bit Celtic. Plottel had done the St Kilda Synagogue in the 20s in a more clearly … Continue reading Footscray Town Hall, exotic styling from 1936
Footscray Junior Technical School, 1941, #PercyEverett at his finest, a grand entry set on and inside corner, with curves and counter-curves, a circular vestibule, some great brickwork, topped by a pair of flagposts - the only thing is there’s trees in front, and a big newer block, and a slight slope down, meaning it doesn’t … Continue reading Footscray Junior Technical College, 1941.
I think I’m right to be jealous of the @cityofsydney’s mandatory design competition process for large projects (policy here) - look at all these lovely projects, all that brick and timber, and nicely scaled public space - ok they need the spaces more than we go what with the narrow streets in the CBD, but … Continue reading Something Sydney can teach us – Design Competitions as part of the planning permit !
December 2019 There's this excellent Milky Way Cafe photo in the State Library Collection - but what ? where ? Well it was designed by Mewton & Grounds, and this is from the Wikipedia entry for Geoffrey Mewton (which I just wrote): “This was followed in 1934 by the Milky Way at 300 #LittleCollinsStreet, a … Continue reading Thoroughly Modern Milk Bar
Not my photo but I couldn’t wait - just discovered that #MewtonAndGrounds did a ‘Scout Settlement’ project in #NottStreet, #PortMelbourne in late 1936, and it’s still there ! The Scout Settlement wasn’t the Scouts, but similar, providing recreation rooms for boys ‘from the more congested suburbs’ in this case the very working class Port Melb. … Continue reading Geoffrey Mewton discovery !
December 2019 A Melbourne#castiron #pissoir, one of 8 left, this one outside the Royal Artillery Hotel #SouthCarlton (now the #LastJar) and quite unchanged, still with the entries facing the gutter, and the cresting intact. I think the white porcelain is original too. It was quite smelly inside ! They all date from 1903-18. The idea … Continue reading Taking the Pissoir.
November 2019, updated 2025 The fantastic long demolished Fish Markets once at the far end of Flinders Street; one of the great loses, but then in the 1950s there was no such thing as heritage listing, and Victoriana was actively disliked. Ive collected a whole bunch of images, mainly via Facebook, mainly originally the State … Continue reading Fish Market, Flinders Street
#KurrajongHouse in #CollinsStreet near the Regent is fine to look at but curiously without a clear style; it’s sort of squared off abstracted classical but really quite plain except that it’s all windows, mostly in the protruding central bay. Built 1936-27, it was designed by #RMandMHKing, a father and son team, better known for houses, … Continue reading Kurrajong is a tree not a bird 😁
First posted Instagram 3 December 2019. It’s a C- from me; #SwanstonCentral, @elenberg_fraser, the colours barely register, neither does the slight curve, and it just stops in the sky. And looks very dull indeed if the sun isn’t shining. Really we should have something much better for this prime spot, outside the #HoddleGrid. (Update : … Continue reading Swanston Central tower – fail !
If the Nazi's never took power, would Berlin have Europe's tallest skyscraper and East Prussia be a honeymoon destination ?
Storey of Melbourne 