So for ages this was #kozminskis; they left in 2017, and now it’s going to be the #HopetounTeaRooms (someone bought the name), a rival to the original, to be renamed #thetearoom1892, which is already operating. This photo from April 2018, here’s what I said then : Beaut highly articulated facade, might even say #arcuated and … Continue reading Was Kozminsky’s now Hopetoun Tea Rooms, 1859 + 1869 + 1919. →

I havnt been back yet to see what it’s like now, but here’s some shots I took in April 2017: A bunch of #bluestone #archways and #entrances at #PentridgePrison. 1 into former hospital, 2,3 the main drive up and down, 4,5 the 'industrial' buildings, since the inmates were usually put to work making mats, number … Continue reading Pentridge bluestone arches, 2017 →

April 2021 Makinganentrance. Not a fan of the scattered 8-12 storey #brownbrick blocks along the middle park/ #stkilda #beachfront, but this one does have a smashing entrance ! (and crisp details, scroll to see whole thing). Possibly by #SolSapir, who did the similar ones at Alfred Sq (which means he did four of these and … Continue reading Another Sol Sapir on Beaconsfield Parade. →

Went wandering around #MelbourneUniversity looking for old studio-type buildings, so checked out #OldEngineering, which turns out to be a #PublicWorks front added in 1914 (with an extra postwar floor, 1940s?) joining up a 1906 building and the original 1899 building to the south by #ReedTappinAndSmart to the south which has its own #watertower ! All … Continue reading Old Engineering, Melbourne University, 1899, 1906, 1914, 1938 →

9 April 2021 The Cafe Australia really was quite extraordinary, equal to Walter & Marion Griffin’s other great interior, the Capitol Theatre. Created in 1916, it was a complete rebuild of the Vienna Cafe, renamed as too German in World War I, when Greek Australian owner Antony Lucas revamped it with a national name and … Continue reading Cafe Australia, 1916, a long lost Griffin masterpiece. →

Did you know the back 2/5 of the RoyalSocietyOfVictoria in Victoria Street is actually 1950s? Repost from this day in 2018: The #RoyalSocietyofVictoria, a club of gentleman explorers and naturalists, who most famously sponsored #BurkeandWills. It was built in 1859, designed by #ReedandBarnes, but only the three north bays; in 1954 nearly 100 years later … Continue reading Royal Society, 1859 + 1954 →

EastbourneHouse, #EastMelbourne, built 1901-3 for Dr Peacock, with professional offices and two attached #terracehouses. The architects are listed as #SydneySmithAndOgg, but this is widely assumed to actually be by #RobertHaddon, who consulted for them and others - and it isn’t like their work at all, but does have a variety of elements considered to be … Continue reading Eastbourne House, 1903, Robert Haddon (probably) →

Since I took this shot in 2019 a development by @sixdegreesarchitects was announced, which I thought maybe has been built, but no I think these are the renders used for presale. At least they’re keeping or rebuilding part of the roof over the first floor front units. I recall an early design for this side … Continue reading Some near facadism in Sydney Road. →

Original post 7 April 2017: Melbourne's women-only #LyceumClub, a rare city work by a #femalearchitect, from 1959 - #EllisonHarvie, from #StephensonTurner. Major works going on, a bit worrying because it's not (yet) #heritagelisted, but a woman who said she was the president asked me why I was taking photos, looked pleased when I said I … Continue reading Lyceum Club →

Repost from 2017: The Port Authority building, built as the Harbour Trust, completed in 1931 (it was started just before the depression hit - must've seemed a bit OTT by then). But beautifully proportioned, practically cubic, dominated by those great #giantorder #ioniccolumns and great big cornice. Architects #sydneysmithoggandserpell. Converted to flats in 2000 after a … Continue reading Port Authority Building, Market Street, 1931 →