Honestly why bother ? What planner agreed to this ? Not only a terrible example of #facadism, keeping only literally the front wall, but they’ve put a few more holes in it too. So barely represents what it was, a plain industrial building, which maybe wasn’t worth being #heritagelisted in the first place. Maybe it … Continue reading Facadism, literally
26 January 2020 This slightly crappy back end of St Vincents Hospital Melbourne is actually the most historic part, and one of the first ‘modern’ hospital blocks in Vic that’s still around, with generous balconies for patients to sit on, away from the germs that everyone had finally accepted were real. Built in 1905, designed … Continue reading St Vincent’s Hospital – the grand Edwardian front we missed out on.
25 January 2020 The Healy Wing of St Vincents Hospital Melbourne is rather special, love the way the bricks grade up in colour from dark to light (only one other bldg in a Melb I know of does that), and the top levels step back, giving a bit of a NY skyscraper silhouette, though the … Continue reading St Vincent’s Hospital Healy Wing, almost Art Deco.
The #HealyWing of #StVincentsHospitalMelbourne has all these great mosaic floors ! The tiles leading to the chapel are #hexagonaltiles and I guess the salve is the Latin for both hello and good health, but it might be literally a salve ? The chapel is in the earlier 1905 wing hence the Victorian looking doors with … Continue reading Looking down at St Vincent’s Hospital.
13 November 2019 #deservetopreserve ? The #ReserveBankofAustralia Melbourne branch building was built in 1962-65 (as far as I can tell), and was designed by the Commonwealth Department of Works (with #ProfessorBrianLewis of Melb Uni archi school helping). It had an ‘arcade’ around the base, now filled in, and huge #SidneyNolan mural in the foyer, moved … Continue reading Reserve Bank tower Collins Street, replaced ?
From the archives - the #SaracensHeadHotel on #BourkeStreet Up from Elizabeth was created 1875 by adding a floor to the 1847 original. Basically a typical Italianate form, but the arches are (just) keyhole arches, there’s a couple of crescent motif finials, and a pair of #oniondome ones, and an actual Saracen's head. The first photo … Continue reading Saracens Head Hotel, Bourke Street, minus the actual head.
January 2020 The #castironlamps on #PrincesBridge were installed a long time after the bridge was opened in 1888- in May 1926, when they made the news ! They trialled a variety of globes, featured in another article from 1925, when they installed the first single cast iron lamps on St Kilda Road. The article doesn't … Continue reading Cast iron street lamps Princes Bridge.
First posted instagram January 24, 2020 This curious building in the middle of St Vincent's Hospital on Victoria Parade was built as the Hall of Science in 1889 by the Australian Secular Association, a pretty radical organisation who lectured on 'freethought', which was basically seen as anti-religious - and they had their meetings on Sundays. … Continue reading The Hall of Science, haunt of 1880s radicals.
First posted instagram January 24, 2020 Apparently this is going to be demolished soon, and I’m ok with that. Built as the #StVincentsHospitalMelbourne #NursesHome with casualty on the lower levels, it was built in the early 1950s, and it’s just a huge imposing #creambrick bock, relieved only by inset balcs on one side and stuck … Continue reading 50s clunky I won’t miss it !
First posted instagram January 24, 2020 This about as good as it gets ! The existing building is rather plain for 1891 when it was built as the HQ and workshop for ubiquitous #stainedglass manufacturers #FergusonAndUrie (though they soon lost most of their business with the 1890s crash and sold it in 1899). Its pretty … Continue reading This is good, actually; a tower without facadism
If the Nazi's never took power, would Berlin have Europe's tallest skyscraper and East Prussia be a honeymoon destination ?
