10 December 2023 Odd little survivor on Chapel Street, sandwiched between Dan Murphy’s and a Kathmandu. The arches now all blocked off on the upper floor perhaps once big windows. It goes right back to the carpark - and I now see the back end has a sign for the Big Store and a nice … Continue reading Big Store walkway Chapel Street →

Original post 7 December 2018: Harcourt & Parry Drapery, 1888, by #CrouchandWilson, sits very grandly in Park Street #SouthMelbourne, near the Town Hall; and unusually the facade is made of carved stone, and there’s a little tower, and you can see ‘H&P’ in lovely curly script up there. It was I guess a mini department … Continue reading Very big store, South Melbourne →

Original post 8 December 2020 Great shot of a bit of #LostMelbourne; one of the once numerous tall thin buildings in the central CBD, ‘The Strand’ was on Elizabeth Street, almost next to the great #ANZRoyalBankBranch. It was built in 1929, architects #PeckAndKemter, in a Gothic skyscraper style clearly drawing on NY precedents like the … Continue reading The Strand, Elizabeth Street →

Original post 7 December 2018 I didn’t think much of this till I got up close - #Banksia, at the #MelbourneDocklands, by McBride Charles Ryan, finished last year - the spiky bits are really spiky ! And #curvalicious, and moulded, I do like the legs and the crown. Won a few prizes. Still think it … Continue reading Banksia, Docklands →

4 December 2023 Just real estate photos but it’s petty special. The Lippincott house was built in 1917, and is nothing like the late Edwardian houses of the era - in fact it looks rather 70s ! It was built for Roy Lippincott, who was an architect in the office of Walter and Marion Griffin, … Continue reading Lippincott House, Eaglemont →

Original post 6 December 2017: Various delightful details of the recently repainted Flinders Street Station in a nice pinky beige : 1, 2. the beautiful #artnouveau #stainedglass above the entry, designed by #JamesFawcett, one of the stations designers, who also designed pressed metal ceilings and objects; 3. close up of one of the decorative #cartouche … Continue reading Flinders Street Station details →

Original post 5 December 2017: Westray Villa, Canning Street, #NorthCarlton, 1881. A fully intact parapet for my #melbterraceparapet collection. This is elaborate but pretty typical, with a central #clamshell, #ladyface #keystone, but it’s got its urns, complete with spikes. It’s the only fully intact one in a row of 10, so maybe it’s the only … Continue reading Terrace parapets →

Original post 3 December 2020 Some of my snapshots of Bombay in Feb 1985 - lots of grand Raj era Venetian Gothic (what I’d come to see), bullock carts in the insane traffic, an Indo-Saracenic style house, a surprising amount of Deco, and a general sense of decay.

Original post 28 November 2017: “Our Lodging” in #LittleBourkeStreet, 1883-4, unusual in so many ways - first it’s an unusually severe Tudor/Gothic, designed by #WilliamPittArchitect; second, it was the first attempt at #socialhousing in Melbourne, but built privately - by #GeorgeCoppin, actor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and politician (yes all at the same time!), built amidst the … Continue reading Our Lodgings, later Gordon House →

Original post 25 November 2017 The expanding and shrinking signage on Young & Jackson’s. Y&Js is a truly iconic place in Melbourne, and in fact one of the oldest, right on possibly the most important intersection of the city. The corner building dates from 1853, it then became the Princes Bridge Hotel in 1861, then … Continue reading Young & Jackson’s as a billboard →