26 September 2023 This grand Neoclassical facade, featuring ionic columns, looks at home amongst the restrained 1850s bluestone classical warehouses at the bottom of King Street, but it’s actually much younger – it was built in 1937 for the Victorian Butter Factory, Cooperative, replacing, ‘two old bluestone warehouses’, and was designed by Marcus Barlow (famous … Continue reading Butter Factory Co-op later Inflation, King Street →

Original post 28 September 2018: The #MetropolitanFireBrigade HQ or at least main station, #EasternHill, built 1893, designed by#TaylerandFitts, and #SmithandJohnston, who had to combine their equal prize winning designs (somehow). The MFB was only formed in 1891, after years of part funded volunteer and insurance brigades and lots of fires. Great #firespotting tower, and nice … Continue reading Eastern Hill Fire Station →

Original post 22 September 2017: Not many painted signs left in the CBD, but there’s a big one half hidden on the side of Alstons Corner (ne Eliz & Collins) - closeup thanks to @nowvoyager_ Newman's was a jewellers, and according to the ad from 1936 I found, was started in the 1850s. An article … Continue reading Newmans have removed →

1 October 2023 When you look at the Rialto close up it has so much amazing detail - a picturesque roof line of gables and a spire (entirely made of zinc), lots of little windows, brick stripes, a variety of gothic details in the cement render, lots of coloured and patterned tiles, and stained glass … Continue reading Rialto, Collins Street →

Repost from 2019 : Alcaston House, top of Collins Street, #AandKHenderson, 1930. It does look splendid, though I’ve heard with the trams it’s pretty noisy. Funny but true that this is the only block of flats built in the city in the interwar period, but I guess the wealthy preferred to live in Toorak or … Continue reading Alcaston House →

9 September 2023 This prefabricated cast iron terrace pair that once stood at 35-37 Smith Street Fitzroy was probably manufactured in Glasgow in 1853. Many thousands of iron houses, large and small, stores shops and even churches were imported during the gold rush of the early 1850s, of which less than 30 remain. Usually they … Continue reading Prefabricated iron terrace houses, Fitzroy →

14 September 2024: Great photo from 1962 via @heraldsunphoto_retro of POST girl Jenny Boyle admiring the just restored last gas lamp in the city, on Collins Street just down from the Manchester Unity. It was put up in the 1880s outside a chemist, a time when business put up their own lamps. After electric lighting … Continue reading Gas Lamp, Collins Street →

Original post 13 September 2017 updated : A rather fun bit of postmodernism in Hotham Street East Melbourne. Dating from c1983, it was (and possibly still is) the home of Daryl Jackson, who did some notable Brutalist things in the 70s (such as the MLC library in Kew), then went on to sometimes delightful Pomo … Continue reading Postmodern Daryl Jackson house in East Melbourne →

Original post 30 November 2017: Wilson Hall at Melbourne University was designed by Reed & Barnes, and opened in 1882. It was one of the greatest secular Gothic Revival structures in Australia, along with the Great Hall at Sydney University. But in January 1952 a spectacular fire broke out (Melbourne Uni archives have quite a … Continue reading Wilson Hall, Melbourne University →

10 September 2023 Nice fountain at the entrance to the not so nice Westpac black glass tower in Collins Street, next to Scot’s Church, completed 2015. The splashing bowl is a little bit lost in the whole thing - partly because it was reused from a much smaller version built in 1980 (2nd last pic), … Continue reading George’s Fountain, 1980 + 2015 →