Although the skyscrapers are the most noticeable constructions in Melbourne (see previous post), there are many beautiful older buildings in the CBD which I will feature in this and the next post. You’ll find most of them marked on my Google map with a tower symbol. If you’re on a computer, click on the photo galleries for the best view.
My most favourite old relic is the Forum Theatre on the corner of Flinders Street and Russell Street. I was pretty gobsmacked to stumble across such a beautiful example of Moorish Revival (aka Neo-Mudéjar) architecture in an Australian city, as I’m more used to seeing it in Seville (my post here) or other southern European cities (my index here). It was built in 1929 and designed by John Eberson who was known as a leading American ‘picture palace’ architect. I would have loved to have seen inside but it was closed for renovations when I was there.
Another favourite was the Manchester Unity Building manchesterunitybuilding.com.au on Collins St opposite the town hall. Constructed in 1931–32, it’s a mix of Art Deco and Gothic Revival, and has a stepped Gothic crown, complete with flying buttresses.
Also lovely is the Cathedral Arcade which dates from 1926. It’s on the ground floor of the Nicholas Building, a ‘palazzo skyscraper’ designed by Harry Norris.
In the 30s Norris was responsible for a number of Melbourne’s finest Art Deco buildings, including another personal favourite, Mitchell House, on the corner of Lonsdale St and Elizabeth St. Built in 1937, it’s a lovely example of Streamline Moderne, an international style of Art Deco that emerged in the 1930s. The spandrels (here, the space between the windows and the moulding above) have incised ‘speed lines’ which wrap around the curved corners while the entrance foyer is decorated with green faience tiles and has a green and yellow terrazzo floor.
Melbourne is blessed with numerous theatres. After the Forum above, my next favourite is the Regent Theatre on Collins St, which was built in 1929 and designed by Charles Ballantyne. I’ve only glimpsed the Gothic style lobby but I hear that it has a Louis XVI style auditorium and a Spanish Baroque style ballroom in the basement.
The Auditorium is a former concert hall and cinema at 167–173 Collins Street. The Edwardian building was designed by Nahum Barnet in 1912.
Alston’s Corner at 82 Elizabeth Street was also designed by Nahum Barnet a year later in 1913. It’s an example of Queen Anne style architecture, a feature of which is red brick contrasting with the white bands of painted stucco, a style gruesomely known as “blood and bandages”. It has an oriel window (a suspended bay window) on its corner with a cupola at the top.
Flinders Street railway station first opened in 1854 but the current building was built between 1900 and 1909. Stretching for more than two city blocks, from Swanston Street to Market Street, it’s a mix of Federation (an architectural style that was prevalent in Australia between 1890 to 1915) and Edwardian Baroque.
Another nice Federation building is the City Baths located at 420 Swanston Street. The building was designed by John James Clark and opened in 1904.
In 1912 Clark, along with his son EJ Clark, designed the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre which represented a new era of modern medical treatment for Victorians. The Baroque design is the only remaining building of the Melbourne Hospital which once filled the entire block. Due to its historical importance in the lives of many generations of Melbournians, it was saved from demolition in the 1990s by a public campaign.
On Russell and La Trobe streets is the Former Magistrates’ Court, designed by George B.H. Austin in a Norman Romanesque style and built between 1911 and 1914. In 1880 Ned Kelly was convicted of murder in an earlier building on this site.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons building at 250 Spring Street is an interesting example of Deco meeting Greek Revival. It was designed by architects Irwin & Stevenson and built in 1935.
Next, even older 19th century architecture in the CBD!