12 March 2015: The front of St Peters Eastern Hill, built 1848, in simple, even simplistic, #gothicrevival in render over bricks, designed by #charleslaing. It faces away from the street, because it originally faced open space, looking towards Bourke Street in #colonialmelbourne before that space was chosen for parliament house in 1853. So now it’s … Continue reading St Peter’s Eastern Hill →

8 March 2025 Royal Saxon Hotel, 441 Elizabeth Street, built 1858, an early survivor near the market, built of face bricks (now painted), unusual skinny detailing, and a rough facade bluestone bit to one side. It’s the site of a proposed high rise development now up for sale with a (not bad) permit in place. … Continue reading Historic hotel, tower behind →

7 March 2025 Unusual shops & flats on Carlisle Street St Kilda, next to the library. It’s got a whole gable roofed section, typical for the 1920s Californian Bungalow style, but projecting over the footpath to form a narrow balcony (now glazed in). Also, a generous entry to the flats, splayed out with the shops … Continue reading Bungalow flats →

7 March 2025 I knew ‘immigrant nostalgia’ was a thing, but not that there’s a place in Lygon Street that’s dedicated to the idea ! Opening in mid 2023, Johnny, Vince & Sam’s is the brainchild of the 3 blokes called Sooshi Mango who do skits on YouTube dressed up as their nonnas and pappas. … Continue reading Nonna style →

5 March 2025 The fine restrained Georgian style offices at the Camberwell Tram Depot, built 1929. It has a corner piece like a little classical temple with a clock to keep the drivers on time perhaps. It was designed by Alan G Monsborough, who was the chief architect of the M&MTB from 1925-1938. The depot … Continue reading Camberwell Tram Depot →

3 March 2025 Truly appalling development in Grey Street St Kilda, completed in 2017, when I was outraged to discover it wasn’t just a case of facadism, but in fact they were allowed to demolish the whole lot, then rebuild the Victorian facade (probably because they were allowed to keep only the front wall, then … Continue reading Facadism ? No it’s all new →

2 March 2025 Repost 2021: The FG Scholes block at the former Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, 1949, one of the best things #PercyEverett ever did (and he did a lot). Always thought of it as the isolation ward, since it was a series of individual rooms with screened porches, but then the whole place was … Continue reading Zigzag modern At Fairfield Hospital →

27 February 2025 A grand Georgian style house in Landale Road Toorak; I thought it was maybe 1950s, since there’s few embellishments, but turns out it was built probably in the early 30s. It’s called Aroona, and the site and the street were once a larger estate of the same name with a fine 1869 … Continue reading Landale Road Toorak →

27 February 2025 Macpherson Robertson’s chocolate business, known by his nickname MacRobertson’s, started in Argyle Street Fitzroy in 1880, and by WW1 he had built a number of large factory and distribution warehouses in the area, mainly north of Johnston. The biggest one on the corner of Rose & Gore carried this huge neon sign … Continue reading Chocolate factories in Fitzroy →

23 February 2025 Some delicious Mock Tudor in Toorak, you’ve probably whizzed by on Williams Road, near Toorak. It’s got all the bits, some half-timbering, with complex brickwork in the gables, diamond page windows, tall chimneys, and a turret to boot. Looking a bit like a large house, it was built in 1933, designed PJ … Continue reading Toorak Tudor flats →