17 January 2025 I went looking for this laneway a couple of weeks ago; I thought it was Spark Lane, off Flinders near Spring, but it was all covered by scaffolding. I did find a picturesque light well / building gap though, and some nice bluestone (too neat to be completely original though). I now … Continue reading Back lane, long gone →

24 January 2025 Caulfield Primary in Glenhuntly Road, one of the many Victorian Gothic schools built after compulsory primary education was introduced in 1872. This one is noted for its projecting rounded bay for the masters office, further emphasised by the cute little tower, both with original glazed flat roof tiles (and a bit hidden … Continue reading Another Gothic school →

24 January Repost 2021: A very unusual example of the #RomanesqueRevival applied to a house, this sits behind a nice garden in #AlmaRoad #EastStKilda. Actually built not as a house but for the boarders of the (once) adjacent Priory Girls School, which perhaps explains the three generous reception rooms, maybe once dorms ? Built in … Continue reading Romanesque house, 1890 →

23 January 2021: Got my copy of ‘Winning Homes’, the result of Tim Reeves’ PhD on Australian ‘ideal’ home competitions - and interesting to see that many of the winners of the 1934 Victorian Centenary Homes Exhibition held at Myer (!) were ‘Modern’, a style which was rarely actually built in the 30s. None exactly … Continue reading Winning Modernist houses, 1934 →

22 January 2014: The rather wonderful Tomasetti Building in Flinders Lane near Elizabeth, designed by the prolific Tompkins & Tompkins in 1908 in the popular Edwardian #redbrick tall arched style, but with a touch of the Moorish in the keyhole arches and general stripeyness. It was an extra floor and new facade result of by … Continue reading Oriental Edwardian →

21 January 2025 Ive always sort of liked this thing, thrusting up from amongst older shops, topped by a variety of shapes and materials that look like industrial ad-hoc. It’s on Inkerman Street St Kilda just off Barkly, and I had some vague idea it was famous, and here’s what I found : called Luxe, … Continue reading Neometro in St Kilda →

21 January 2015 Repost from 10 years ago : St Francis in Elizabeth Street is an amalgam of many periods and changes, with the main middle section built 1841-5, making it one of the oldest buildings in Melbourne. The first thing you see going in is a huge marble #baldaccino thing - it was originally … Continue reading St Francis, Elizabeth Street →

20 January 2018 : Former Albert Park Coffee Palace, built 1887-1889 in Bridport Street as an alcohol free hotel with 40 rooms and big lounge and dining rooms. After the Windsor it’s the most palatial one remaining. It was designed by my favourite High Victorian architect, #WSLaw, and has a similar top pavilion to his … Continue reading Grandeur in Albert Park →

18 January 2025 One of those pointy corner places that just look wrong on photos from certain angles. This one on Barkly Street St Kilda near Grey. Probably Edwardian given the houses next to it / behind are all that era. Very nice girly sign for Luna Moss Flowers, nice to see a good window … Continue reading A cute corner →

17 January 2025 I don’t mind the end result of the redevelopment of the Herald building in Flinders Street from 2005 - about 20m deep of the original 1920s building was retained, so the tower rises up well behind, you don’t notice it from the street. Another fun bit is that you can walk through … Continue reading Herald Building →