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Guide to Melbourne’s most iconic architecture
Introduction
Architecture of Melbourne
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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.
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.
Location: 350 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000.
