Dec 2025 An unusual and rather jolly I think block of flats in Horsburgh Grove Armadale that looks rather 50s but dates from 1940. Called Glenunga, it was one of a bunch of wildly modernist designs by Frederick Romberg, a German who had studied in Switzerland and fled the politics back home, arriving in Melbourne … Continue reading Early modernism in Malvern →

December 2025 Katanga, on the corner of Glenferrie and Hamilton Roads, Malvern. It was the last house designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear, built 1931-33 for solicitor Wesley Ince. It’s a curious design, similar to his other boxy Toorak houses, all with a porch or porte-cochere, but there’s more going on with this one. Lots of … Continue reading Katanga, Malvern →

November 2025 Rather nice Edwardian spotted in Munro Street Armadale, with excellent layered gables, shingled walls, and diagonal projecting circular bay/porch, and lovely interiors - I thought must be by one of leaders in the style like Ussher & Kemp, but turns out to be 1914, by Arthur Purnell, who had a very long and … Continue reading Shameen, Arthur Purnell →

September 2025 Rather clunky weird building on Chapel Street that has housed the Bazaar for many years - but did I read something about it closing ? (Answer is no). I sort of like the entry roundedness. Anyway, it was built c1973, and before that it had been Empress Theatre which opened in 1913, closed … Continue reading Chapel Street bizarre →

November 2025 A bunch of interesting houses all 1880s-1900s, all in one block of Albert Park, starting with the turreted house on the corner of Canterbury and Kerferd, note remnant tuckpointing. Then that house along Canterbury with the dummies and good polychrome brick, then some Gothic flavoured cast iron, and a fine villa with stripes … Continue reading Albert Park corner →

November 2025 Been trying to wrap my head around the new zoning and heights at dozens of activity centres around Melbourne, with 20 of them released a couple of months ago – so Im looking at Camberwell Junction, where the zoning was applied in March this year, and there’s a couple of new projects approved … Continue reading New Activity Centre Zoning →

November 2025 Offington was one of the grandest mansions in St Kilda Road, and was demolished in 1971 - but the point of this post is that it looked completely different by then, having been rebuilt as flats 1932, the bricks rendered and losing the verandah. It was a grand important house in its day, … Continue reading Offington, St Kilda Road →

November 2025 Read about this house at 81 St George’s Road Toorak so had a look - it was sold in 2020, and the overseas owners started renovations then changed their plans, so it’s pretty bare, but the main house is intact. It was built in 1934, architect unknown, but it was by the builders … Continue reading Tudor bereft →

November 2025 A proper Toorak Victorian mansion I hadn’t seen before - Chastleton, cnr of a road the same name and Orrong Road. What we see isn’t all actually Victorian though - the house was first built in 1887 in a very picturesque rustic Italianate style, with a cute verandah, and a ballroom wing to … Continue reading Chastleton Ave Toorak →

November 2025 Spotted this in May this year in Alma Road St Kilda, clearly it was a mansion converted into flats. Now it’s up for sale, so we can see a bit inside - it was until recently the Scottsdale Supported Residential Service, I think run by the Uniting Church, so it’s got loads of … Continue reading Mansion to flats to boarding house … →