Im guessing this #CastIronVerandah in #RathdowneStreet #Carlton is original rather than an 80s/90s reproduction, judging from the moss. Interesting that A. it survived the wholesale removals of the 50s, and B. has posts slightly inset from each side. Nice to see the #CityOfMelbourne #CoatofArms there, not sure why or how that became a thing but … Continue reading Cast iron verandah realness, Carlton →

The super stylish #BoxHillGirlsTech, completed 1937, one of the earlier works by #PercyEverett, appointed Chief Architect of the #PublicWorksDepartment in 1934, and immediately most of the work went #Modernist/#ArtDeco; there’s streamlining here, with long Modernist #stripwindows, terminating in a vertical feature complete with flagpole, and a semi-circular element drawing you into the entrance, all in … Continue reading Percy does it again – Box Hill Girls Tech, 1937 →

#BoxHillTownHall looks fine, even in 35* heat. Great bit of interwar suburban #StrippedClassical grandeur, in fact the wings have almost no detailing. Built 1935, #JSGawler, a successful interwar practitioner, was ‘consulting architect’ and also a Councillor, maybe he really designed it. And in the garden there’s a pair of #CollinsStreet #castironlamps (actually probably from St … Continue reading Box Hill Town Hall, 1935 →

6 March 2019 Some more suburban #MockTudor because you know you like it ! This one in #WhitehorseRoad #Balwyn has intact shops with some nice #brickwork, which forms a bit of an arch with the #halftimbering above. Another one across the street has been sadly denuded and then given unfortunately minimalist style windows.

Normally I’m not a fan of prominent rooftop extensions to historic buildings, but the view lines are so tight in #BankPlaceMelbourne that they don’t dominate. There’s three layers here - built as a Romanesque red brick warehouse in 1907, converted to offices with Georgian details in 1933 by owners and architects #AandKHenderson, then the apartments … Continue reading Rooftop extension Bank Place, Jackson Clement Burrows, 2001 →

6 March 2019 The #GeorgianRevival entry to #CharterHouseBankPlace was created in 1933, when the architects #AandKHenderson bought the building and designed this as part of a complete refurb of a 1907 Romanesque building. It’s not obvious from the street, set back behind a kind of vestibule of #terazzo stairs. Funny that quite a few of … Continue reading A Georgian lobby – Charter House, Bank Place, 1933 →

The entry to the 9 storey 1891 #StalbridgeChambers is a pretty rare intact 19thC #officebuilding lobby; a bit altered in the 20s, with probably a new lift and the base to the #bluestonestairs, and in recent years a new floor and that ‘antique’ paint job, which despite myself I quite like. Designed by #TwentymanAndAskew who … Continue reading Victorian lobby, Stalbridge Chambers, Little Collins, 1891. →

4 February 2025 Great little group of shop/warehouses in Little Lonsdale just down from Swanston, completely unchanged since at least 1968, when amateur photographer Karl Halla was documenting most old buildings in the CBD (and now held by the @library_vic). They weren’t heritage listed until 2023, but now part of a precinct including Drewery Lane … Continue reading Charming remnants, Little Lonsdale Street →

The fantastic tiled stairs to the upper floors of the 1928 #ESandAbank on #SwanstonStreet, now a Bank of China. I’d like to take credit for saving it, nominating this part on behalf of @melbourne_heritage_action to the #HeritageRegister (only the facade was listed!) when the owner wanted to put in a new lift and stair. Still … Continue reading How to make a great stairhall – ES&A Bank, Swanston Street, 1928 →

Repost 2018: There’s a big old #Druid looking down from #DruidsHouse in #SwanstonStreet. Wonder if the Ancient Order of Druids had their board room up there behind him on the 6th floor ? [update: no, the windows are recentish]. Architects Gibbs Finlay Morsby & Coates, 1926. A site the width of two terrace houses by … Continue reading Druids House, 1926 →