17 May 2024 (photos 2014) : Edwardian terraces arnt that unusual, but an individually designed one like this one is, spotted at 155 Drummond Street Carlton. Built in 1915, it’s got great Art Nouveau wrought iron brackets, and an elaborate pier/pediment thing above the bowed balcony above the entry. Pity about the verandah being glassed … Continue reading Edwardian terrace Drummond Street →

13 May 2024 Architect Nahum Barnet is quite well known for designs such as the Auditorium Building and the Wertheim Factory in Richmond, but perhaps would be even better known if some of these had survived - he was very prolific in the city between 1900 and WW1, but most are gone; this is a … Continue reading Nahum Barnet, architect →

November 2025: The delightful #MajorcaBuilding in #FlindersLane, which lines up perfectly with Degraves Street. There’s lots of #bluetiles and jolly #fishies and #seagod faces in the decoration, suitable for something named after a Mediterranean island. Plus some Spanish flavour seeing as it’s a Spanish island. This was architect Harry Norris having great fun in 1929, … Continue reading Majorca House →

10 May 2017: #SleighHouse (later #EldersHouse), corner Bourke & Queen, #BatesSmartMcCutcheon, 1964, could be criticised as a design that hovers uncertainly between slick modern and decorative, but I did always secretly love the #goldmosaictiles that emphasised the verticals, which are being rendered over ! 😡 60s revival never more popular, but grey on grey clearly … Continue reading Gold no more →

9 May 2019, updated 2024 : Swann House in William Street was built in 1921-2 for the #StateElectricityCommission. Designed by their architect AR La Gerche, it’s rather plain, described at the time as ‘severe simplicity’, and a bit spoiled by two extra floors added in 1949. I saw a month ago it was scaffolded up, … Continue reading Swann House →

7 May 2024 A bit of a local landmark, Arden sits at the beginning of Marine Parade, opposite Luna Park, and looks a bit exotic too. Originally a pair of Victorian terraces, it was given a makeover in 1934, designed by HV Gillespie in something that’s rather Tudor, or perhaps Moorish, but also rather flat, … Continue reading Moorish Tudor on the beach →

5 May 2024 A little planing dispute, but because it’s in Toorak, it made the news in The Age. The mansion on the corner of Irving Road and Grant Street was built in 1929, and was designed by George Nichterlein, a relative of the owner, flour miller TJ Noske, who soon went broke in depression … Continue reading A Toorak heritage issue →

7 May 2024 This cutie at 30 #LatrobeStreet has quite a varied and unusual history. First built as the Deutscher Turnverein in 1871 (facade 1874), architect #AlfredKursteiner, it was a hall for the German community for such pursuits as gymnastics and choral singing, and they’re still around as the #ClubTivoli. Seems like it was the … Continue reading German gymnastics →

Original post 28 April 2014: Some social housing from 2012 in Brunswick Street, on the Atherton Gardens Estate - it actually sort of blends in between the trad #brunswickstreet shops and the 1960s #housingcommision blocks beyond. Designed by @birddelacoeurarchitects with @mccabe_architects doing the masterplanning, it’s visually interesting, or maybe a little too much going on. … Continue reading Public Housing, Brunswick Street →

30 April 2024 Apparently yesterday was World Art Deco Day, so here’s a selection of Melbourne examples, all from 1930-1941 ish, arnt they great ? And all mostly intact, not just facades. I’ve stuck to big city buildings, but I could have done just flats or details or just one architect, so many to choose … Continue reading World Art Deco Day →