5 August 2025 ‘Montgomery’, a rather stylish little block of 6 flats in Toorak Road West, check out that stripey brickwork ! Designed by Marsh & Michaelson and built 1939, the horizontal lines are rather Modern, but there’s also a rather cute wrought iron balconette and fence, and Art Deco leadlight in the door. Originally … Continue reading Deco flats Toorak Road West →

5 August 2020 A surprise in #ParkStreetSouthYarra - an amazing house pair liberally sprinkled with #ArtNouveau ornament. Rectilinear but richly floral, very Vienna Secession, also seen through Eastern Europe up to Riga Latvia. Built 1906, designed by #ArthurFisher who did a few other similar things, most notably the demolished Koonwarra in St Kilda Road, 1913. … Continue reading Art Nouveau in Park Street →

4 August 2024 Beaut flats in Inkerman Street Bakaclava, designed by Michael Feldhagen, and built in 1962. It’s got 3 different types of concrete blocks, square breeze blocks, patterned ones on the end walls, and long rough faced bricks, some painted now (or possibly always were), as well as jaunty angled wing walls upstairs holding … Continue reading Concrete blocked flats →

3 August 2015: Amongst the #urbanmess of Russell Street, a rather nice #queenanne commercial building with a densely packed but wonderfully rhythmical #parapet level. Surprisingly not much info other than its c1900, but I rekon c1890 (2024 update - it is 1890 😊, architect EJ Henderson). Built by financier and MP (Sir) Edward Miller, and … Continue reading Millers Building, 1890 →

3 August 2024 This old Bank of NSW on Flinders Street, cnr King Street is pretty usual all round for 1912, with a restrained English Arts & Crafts influence, contrasted by delicate Art Nouveau details. It was by architects Godfrey & Spowers, but possibly with a lot of input from design consultant Robert Haddon, as … Continue reading Art Nouveau bank, Flinders Street →

2 August 2024 Great stylish sign on the ex Swallow & Ariell Biscuit factory in Port Melbourne, now largely hidden by trees. When the redevelopment into flats was planned in the early 90s they were just going to demolish this bit, which in the end they did, but reproduced it on a beam over the … Continue reading Swallow & Ariell →

1 August 2024 The sign says ‘Save Inkerman Street’ but looks like this verandah needs saving ! The cottage is actually quite old, c1870, but the windows and verandah look 1920s to me. It’s part of a small heritage precinct that includes a great Victorian arcaded terrace row and some shops across the street. Apparently … Continue reading Inkerman Street →

1 August 2024 Lost Sydney - someone said that maybe Melbourne’s losses were worse than other cities, and I said, well every city in the English speaking world lost a lot in the huge urban rebuilding of the 1950s-70s, before there was such a thing as heritage listing, so I’ve found a bunch of big … Continue reading Lost Sydney →

30 July 2024, photos from March : A rather dramatic example of facadism on Spencer Street West Melbourne, completed in 2017. When first proposed in 2006, they were going to demolish it completely, since heritage listings were way behind, but the art deco & modernism society and the @nationaltrustvic successfully got the facades preserved, with … Continue reading Facadism in Spencer Street →

28 July 2013: East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation/ Melbourne City Synagogue, 1877 but facade 1883 (what did it look like before then ?). Both parts designed by Crouch & Wilson, who were not Jewish, in fact did lots of churches, mostly Gothic but here classical, with slightly exotic pointed domes. Inside, rather spacious, also classical, with … Continue reading East Melbourne Synagogue →