15 September 2017: The Mail Exchange, 1917, designed by Commonwealth Architect #JSMurdoch. Very grand for a place to sort mail, and much lauded as a first of what we later called #StrippedClassical, derived from the US version of #BeauxArts, cos the architects were often Paris trained at the Ecole de Beaux Arts. There’s also a … Continue reading Mail Exchange →

26 October 2024 No 40 and 42 #gertrudestreetfitzroy in 1983, having been abandoned for some time, with #stvincentshospitalmelbourne expecting to replace a whole bunch of houses (I think). Fortunately that didn’t happen, and they were restored instead for #socialhousing. Which they still are. Amazing, wouldn’t happen now. They even restored the cast iron verandah added … Continue reading Gertrude Street terraces saved →

12 September 2024 The Temperance Hall, Napier Street, South Melbourne is still a hall; I remember it when it was Anthill Theatre on the late 80s. The grand front was built in 1888 in front of the hall which was built way back in 1861. It was built by the Emerald Hill Total Abstinence Society, … Continue reading Temperance Hall, South Melbourne →

9 November 2024 Looks like an 80s attempt at Art Deco, but it actually is an original; it’s in Findon Avenue, North Caulfield, built 1939, but surprisingly the architect isn’t known. But I did find some sale pics. It’s in a street created in 1938, and so there’s a strip of houses all from 1939-41, … Continue reading Cantala Estate, North Caulfield →

9 September 2024 Very unusual terrace pair in Park Street West St Kilda; must be c1890, in advanced Queen Anne style, with curly pediment thing, red brick fence with cast iron in imitation of turned timber, as are the lower verandah posts, and a sunflower motif in the frieze. The doors are inset behind deep … Continue reading Queen Anne West St Kilda →

9 September 2024 The ex Rechabite Hall off Chapel Street Prahran packs a punch on a small scale - built 1889 at the height of the boom, it’s location facing down a side street makes it stand out, not to mention the elaborate facade and mansarded tower (and any flanking buildings also long gone). Designed … Continue reading Rechabite Hall →

8 September 2024 Groovy flats in North Caulfield, built on a curved plan. Fountain Court in Orrong Crescent was built in 1968, and designed by the very creative husband & wife team on Holgar & Holgar, part of the WW2 era Eastern European and often Jewish migrant community. Their houses are pretty sumptuous and glam, … Continue reading Curvy flats, Caulfield →

7 September 2024 Popped into Sacred Heart op shop in Chapel Street Prahran - looks like something terrible happened ! But it’s just old brown paint peeling off. Inside is even more interesting - a two storey section with a Victorian staircase, skylights everywhere, timber ceilings, ornate cast iron columns too, it was clearly some … Continue reading Big old Victorian shop, Chapel Street →

7 September 2024 Spotted this new thing in Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, thought it better than most, then discovered it’s by @sixdegreesarchitects, so perhaps that’s why. They’ve been doing arches for a while, and this one is in bold Brutalist concrete, complete with the marks of the wooden form work, like the 50s-60s original Brutalist … Continue reading Concrete arches in Clarendon Street →

6 September 2024 Questa Heights, Upper Esplanade, St Kilda; it’s a big old high rise, but somehow you almost don’t notice it, maybe it’s the generous setbacks. Replacing an 1882 villa called Questa, it was built in 1963, and designed by prewar Jewish emigre architect Mordecai Benshemesh, who did the blocky cream brick flats I … Continue reading High rise on the Esplanade →