iGuide Print Publlication-Melbourne's Most Iconic Building

GUIDE TO MELBOURNE'S MOST ICONIC ARCHITECTURE Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia t. +61 403 722 663 e. melbourneicon@gmail.com 26th September 2021

Guide to Melbourne’s most iconic architecture

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Introduction

Architecture of Melbourne

Melbourne isn’t really known for its skyline. Besides the famous Arts Centre spire and the gargantuan Eureka Tower, we don’t really have defining buildings that shoot out into the stratosphere. Instead, you’ll find some of Melbourne’s best buildings hidden within the grid, on street corners or in grand, green gardens.

After the 1850s Victorian gold rush, Melbourne exploded with displays of new wealth. Tour dramatic Gothic Revival facades, Art Deco jewels and Neoclassical monoliths.From Gothic gargoyles to decadent deco and modern museums. A wander through Melbourne delivers design inspiration at every turn. Whether you’re a visitor or a local, this iconic architecture walk is an excellent way to spend the day. Take a gentle stroll – or better still a bicycle tour – to get to know these buildings.

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Completed:1910

Since 1854, Flinders Street Station has been the heart of Melbourne and has gone on to become one of the most iconic buildings in the city, but did you know that it was first train station built in any Australian city Opened on September 12th 1854, Flinders Street Station was the first railway station built in any Australian city. Melbourne Terminus, as it was called then was a collection of weatherboard sheds and on opening day,the first steam train journey in Australia left from the station to Sandridge (now Port Melbourne).

However, the current iconic Flinders Street Station, the meeting place, central to millions of city commuters, the building itself was the result an architectural competition held in late 1899. The £500 first prize was awarded in May 1900 to railway employees James Fawcett and H.P.C. Ashworth. whose design, named Green Light, was French Renaissance style. The work began in 1900 on the rearrangement of the station tracks and and most of the station was completed by 1909. The entire reconstruction of the station cost around 514,000 pounds, taking ten years to fully complete.

Architect:JW Fawcett and HPC Ashworth

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Location: 350 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000.

Flinders Street Station

Directions to Flinders Street Station with public transport

Bus: 207, 216, 220, 234, 250, 251, 350, 605

Train: Craigieburn, Hurstbridge, Lilydale, Mernda, Sandringham, Sunbury

Tram: 5, 13,

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Location: 220 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000.

Directions to Manchester Unity Building with public transport

Bus: 207, 234, 250, 251, 302, 305, 350, 605, 905

Train: Craigieburn, Frankston, Hurstbridge, Lilydale, Mernda, Sandringham, Upfield

Tram: 16, 48, 67

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Manchester Unity Building

Built in 1932

Built in 1932, the Manchester Unity Building is an Art Deco building housing twelve stories of offices, residential units, and retail spaces.

One of the great landmarks of Melbourne, the prominent building is clad in terracotta tin-glazed tiles and crowned with a turreted gothic style tower. The building was the first in Melbourne to have escalators.

The ground floor arcade features an elaborate mosaic floor, marble-faced walls, cast plaster ceiling panels, decorative metal framed shop fronts, and copper plated elevator doors.

The building is perhaps most notable for its eleventh floor former offices and boardroom of Manchester Unity, which have been painstakingly restored to their former glory. The boardroom table was built on site in 1932 and is nearly six metres long. The top is finished with a rosewood veneer, rosewood inlay border, and a moulded and carved edge.

Architect: Marcus Barlow

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ANZ GOTHIC BANK

Location: 388 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000.

Directions to Anz Bank Museum with public transport

Bus: 216, 220, 235, 250, 251, 302, 350, 605

Train: Craigieburn, Hurstbridge, Lilydale, Mernda, Sandringham, Sunbury, Upfield, Williamstown

Tram: 12, 59, 6, 86

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Standing on the corner of Queen Street and Collins Street are two impressive buildings, the former English, Scottish and Australia Bank and the former Melbourne Stock Exchange. Built between 1883 and 1891, the two were combined and renovated in 1921, and are now the world headquarters of ANZ Bank.

Designed by architect William Wardell and built in 1883-87, the ES&A Bank is the more restrained of the two, with high ceilings, lancet windows and a narrow spire. As well as ES&A’s head office, it was once the residence of the bank’s general manager.

The former Stock Exchange was constructed shortly after, completed in 1891. Designed by William Pitt, its appearance is flamboyant, with gargoyles, stained glass and a rose window at the very top of the building.

Towering behind these two historic buildings is the ANZ skyscraper, built in 1993. Construction included the restoration and preservation of the heritage structures on site. The skyscraper itself was designed by Peddle Thorp Architects, and reflects the Gothic themes of the buildings below.

Visit the ANZ bank to deposit cash in what is probably the fanciest bank in town, or head to the basement to explore the ANZ Banking Museum. Opened in 1985, it tells of the history of banking in Australia.

Architect: William Wardell Built in 1883-87

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Location: 350 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000.

Directions to Melbourne General Post Office with public transport

Bus: 235, 250, 251, 302, 304, 350

Train: Belgrave, Craigieburn, Cranbourne, Lilydale, Mernda, Pakenham

Tram: 59, 86, 96

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Melbourne General Post Office

Construction started: 1861

Completed: 1907

The old General Post Office is located on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Bourke Street Mall and is an icon of inner-city Melbourne. The building began construction in 1859 and spent the next five decades being constructed and remodelled. The iconic clock tower was added around 1887, during this final stage of construction. American architect Walter Burley Griffin redesigned the sorting hall into a public hall around 1919, only for it to be altered again by John Smith Murdoch. The space functioned as a post office for most of the 20th century until 1993 when Australia Post decided it wanted to move its post office functions into smaller shopfronts.

Many commercial schemes were proposed, though none came into fruition until 2001, when it was leased to developers with the goal of turning it into a shopping centre. A fire broke out in the GPO in September 2001, destroying the interior of the building, and it was only in 2004 was the GPO reopened as a high-end retail precinct. Since 2014, the GPO has been home to Melbourne’s first H&M store. Even if you’re not there for the clothes and accessories, you can still have a peek inside at the building’s impressive 19th-century grandeur.

Architect: A.E.Johnson, William Wardell

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Victoria, Australia 14 Melbourne

Flinders Street Station Manchester Unity Building ANZ Gothic Bank

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Melbourne’s GPO Building

References

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Arcade Foyer [image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://manchesterunitybuilding.com.au/gallery/building-common-areas/

Culture Trip. (2017). 12 Things You Didn’t Know About Flinders Street Station, Melbourne. Retrieved from https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/ australia/articles/12-things-you-didnt-know-about-flinders-street-stationmelbourne/

Time out. (2021). The most beautiful buildings in Melbourne. zRetrieved from https://www.timeout.com/melbourne/things-to-do/the-mostbeautiful-buildings-in-melbourne

Visit Melbourne (n.d). ANZ Gothic Bank. Retrieved from https://www.visitmelbourne.com/regions/Melbourne/Things-to-do/Art-theatreand-culture/Architecture-and-design/vv-ANZ-Gothic-Bank

What’s on. (2021). Melbourne’s most beautiful buildings and iconic architecture. Retrieved from https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/article/ melbournes-most-beautiful-buildings-and-iconic-architecture

What’s on. (2021). Manchester Unity Building. Retrieved from https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/things-to-do/manchester-unity-building