Queen Hall at the State Library looks lovely

Queen Hall at the State Library looks lovely

The refurbished #QueensHall at the #StateLibraryVictoria looks amazing, all that delicate plaster detail highlighted by pale paint, and the fabbo #fishscale #skylights reinstated; hard to believe it’s been 16 years since it closed (due to fire risk/exits), and what a change from the 1970s green and cream scheme. It now looks much as it did … Continue reading Queen Hall at the State Library looks lovely →

Queens Hall at the State Library has some great old furniture, and lots of empty space.

Queens Hall at the State Library has some great old furniture, and lots of empty space.

Pleased to see the refurbished and reopened #QueensHall at the #StateLibraryVictoria has the original furniture! Which I now see are at least 3 different designs, but all nicely old, varnished and worn. complete with old graffiti. They're on the sides when they used to be all in the middle, with book stacks on the sides- … Continue reading Queens Hall at the State Library has some great old furniture, and lots of empty space. →

State Library murals – don’t forget to look up !

State Library murals – don’t forget to look up !

I do like the murals above the stairs to #QueensHall at the @library_vic, and nice to see that they’re well lit now, a bit hard to see before, but you still have to #lookup; the neoclassical style one with the scantily clad men and boys (Greek mythology ?) is by the one-armed #NapierWaller, dating from … Continue reading State Library murals – don’t forget to look up ! →

Shakespeare in stained glass at the State Library

Shakespeare in stained glass at the State Library

Repost 4 January 2020: Always a treat to see the Shakespeare Window up the top level of the @state_library_victoria dome - apparently it was one of the earliest made in Melbs, in 1862. And quite a survivor, originally in the Haymarket Theatre in Bourke Street, but taken out by impresario #GeorgeCoppin who had commissioned it, … Continue reading Shakespeare in stained glass at the State Library →

The State Library furniture is pretty old, and stylish for 1913.

The State Library furniture is pretty old, and stylish for 1913.

One of the things I like most about the @library_vic is the chairs ! 107 years old now, still used, and still look vaguely ‘modern’, with simple lines and square cut-outs, in contrast to the very traditional carved and varnished decoration on the central lectern thing, where a librarian would sit in order to shush … Continue reading The State Library furniture is pretty old, and stylish for 1913. →

State Library dome not the biggest in 1913 after all !

State Library dome not the biggest in 1913 after all !

#MythBusted ! The StateLibraryofVictoria #domedreadingroom was not the ‘biggest (#reinforcedconcrete) dome in the world’ in 1913 at all ! Structurally complete late 1912, but so was the #CentennialHallWroclaw, which is 62m wide while ours is only a piddly 34.7m. The Wroclaw dome officially opened in May 1913, ours in Nov 1913, so way ahead. I’m … Continue reading State Library dome not the biggest in 1913 after all ! →

Cal Bung delight in Footscray

Cal Bung delight in Footscray

Aptly named #ThePebbles, this 1920 house on #GeelongRoad in #Footscray is a #CalifornialBungalow on steroids ! Fat pebbly piers supporting complicated woodwork with wildly cantilevered brackets and spiky edged pergolas, and all perfectly intact ! We learned about this in archi school but I’d never stopped to see it up close. Designed by #SchreiberAndJorgenson, not … Continue reading Cal Bung delight in Footscray →