6 March 2024 The surprisingly atmospheric entry to the offices above the ex stock exchange in Collins Street (part of the Gothic Bank) created by @more_kta. I say surprising@because it’s not what you’d expect for an office entry, though perhaps more used to get to @reine.larue. This replaced a 1992 entry created by @lovellchen that … Continue reading Gothic Bank complex refresh →

6 March 2024: This rather mad thing was almost built on Southbank where the Exhibition Centre is - back in the late 80s the idea was to extend the old Exhibition Building, and relocate the Museum to here. The design, by Daryl Jackson, seen here in photos of the model held by @museumsvictoria from 1991, … Continue reading Unbuilt Museum →

5 March 2017: Plenty of these Edwardian villas in the leafy suburbs, but this one is in Nicholson Street, Fitzroy, and has some unusual details - namely the bright greentile #dado, and the verandah trim which is not only fully Art Nouveau, with little hearts/tulips, but in cast iron! Very rare. Other details are typically … Continue reading Unusual Edwardian →

5 March 2019: Pretty sure this is an original #CastIronVerandah rather than a later reproduction - the bases now lost under extended pavement, and basically it just looks too old and wonky to date from the 80s when the CofM funded reproductions. Interesting that A. it survived the wholesale removals of the 50s, and B. … Continue reading Original verandah, Carlton →

3 March 2024 A friend loaned me this book from 1995 that’s just photos and interviews of people living in the CBD, back when it was quite unusual. There were only about 1000, mostly in the two 60s high rise, and in cheap accommodation in ex hotels, but also the pioneers who were more or … Continue reading Living in the CBD, 1995 →

29 February 2024 The poor state of the Royal Exhibition Building was in the Age yesterday, with campaigners pointing out it needs many more $ spent - the few cracks or bits missing outside don’t look too alarming, but the condition of the painted decoration under the dome is another matter. From photos in the … Continue reading Exhibition Buildings damaged murals →

28 February 2024 You probably know this place as The Top of the Town, a brothel in Flinders Street near King Street - it’s a fairly nice building too, with a bit of a history. It was built in 1880 as Coffee Tavern No 2, one of the first of the ‘coffee palaces’ in the … Continue reading Coffee Taven No 2, Flinders Street →

27 February 2024 😡 yet more facadism, of yet another corner pub, this time the 1925 Waterside Hotel on Flinders Street. It’s still going to be a drinking venue, but of completely different character to a pub, with a central courtyard and rising floors of perhaps private bars /dining rooms in one corner, all with … Continue reading Waterside Hotel facadism →

26 February 2024 A very fine Renaissance Revival style facade in King St near Flinders, with typical rusticated base, and prominent first floor windows, all in carved bluestone. A style common for warehouses (indeed many building types) in the 1850s that just carried on, this one designed by A L Smith in 1873 for Zander’s … Continue reading Zander’s Store →