8 June 2014, updated: Came across this very unusual house in Lord Street Brunswick, with a long deep classical verandah and horseshoe arches. Turns out it was built in 1912 for James Dolphin, a Jewish factory owner, so he must have wanted something with a near eastern feel. It’s also very grand, placed at top … Continue reading Brunswick Synagogue →

6 June 2025 If you’ve ever been along Riversdale Road in Hawthorn you would have noticed this, a rather grand shop/office building. The 2020 hawthorn heritage gap study says it was built c1923, of Mt Gambier limestone, now painted unfortunately, but no architect found. It’s relatively rare as a set of shops with purpose built … Continue reading Glenferrie Riversdale corner – typing and Chinese takeaway. →

5 June 2025 A finely detailed bit of #GeorgianRevival with a Mediterranean feel on Fitzroy Street St Kilda. The thin variegated #tapestrybricks give it more texture than actual Georgian, and it’s got a little balustraded balcony poking out a bit. About 1934. Port Phillip heritage planner tells me it’s by architect Marcus Barlow (who’d just … Continue reading Georgian upstairs in St Kilda →

28 May 2025 Cloyne, in Toorak Road near Kooyong Road is up for sale, and it certainly needs some work ! It’s one of the quirky 1920s houses by Harold Desbrowe Annear, moving on from his pioneering Arts & Crafts into a sort of Georgian, built for a Baillieu relative in 1926. It’s got a … Continue reading Desbrowe Annear x 4 →

21 May 2025 The rather wild Solway Building on the corner of Brunswick & Johnston Streets Fitzroy. Built 1912, it was designed by William Rain with fun wriggly parapets of different widths on both sides, and lots of red brick now painted light purple. Solway was a clothing and footwear retailer, and may have been … Continue reading Solway, Fitzroy →

14 May 2025 The long gone Earl’s Court dance hall on the Upper Esplanade, next to the St Moritz ice rink, more famous as The Venue in the 1980s. It had been the Lyric open air cinema from 1913, rebuilt as the Mayfair with a cabaret downstairs and dance hall upstairs in 1928. Then in … Continue reading Earls Court /The Venue →

13 May 2025 The wonderful castley Malvern Tram Depot, just off Glenferrie Road, near High - that little turret clearly designed to catch the eye. In fact the rest of it is quite plain. It was opened on 30 May 1910 (so the 115th birthday is soon !), and there’s pics of the event, and … Continue reading Malvern Tram Depot →

October 2025 The Catani Arch on the St Kilda foreshore, possibly on opening day in August 1916, everyone dressed for …. a Sunday walk, except the girl in the middle. The arch is part of a whole sweep of raised rockeries and paths that was one of the last elements of the beautification of the … Continue reading St Kilda foreshore Edwardian landscaping →

9 May 2025 It’s a pretty grand terrace in Grey Street St Kilda, possibly 1870s, maybe 1880s, set back behind large gardens, and the most visible one missing its verandah. But lots of great detailing up top. (Beautiful autumn creepers too in 2025). That house was sold in 2004, when it was mauve inside. Then … Continue reading Grand terraces St Kilda →

9 May 2025 The slightly famous K2 public housing in Raleigh Street, just off the south end of St Kilda Road. It was designed by @designinc_melb, completed in 2007, one of the first new big public housing projects since the early 80s, and won a lot of awards, mainly for the extensive sustainability features. Ive … Continue reading Public Housing →