Here are some pics from the weekend of Melbourne's arts precinct on St Kilda Road and some city views....

National Gallery of Victoria

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Melbourne Concert Hall (now Christened 'Hamer Hall')

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There is an interesting little market held under the Concert Hall on weekends.


Melbourne Arts Centre

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Secret and peaceful garden at the back of the Arts Centre... (I only discovered this on Saturday)
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Some C.B.D. views from the Concert Hall

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nice shots!

Great shots Adam! :okay:
Great to see the fountains back on at NGV International too. :)

I havent been inside the arts centre in ages, forgot how royally red the joint was~!

Sorry to have to tell you, but its not called the Melbourne Concert Hall any more. Its official name is Hamer Hall. And its the Victorian Arts Centre not the Melbourne Arts Centre. I am very pedantic about people using correct names etc.

Melbourne Concert Hall (now Christened 'Hamer Hall')


Hi Aussie Steve. I take your point about the Victorian Arts Centre, but I think I already addressed the naming issue of Hamer Hall? Building names will sometimes change periodically, but a reference to the original name is always useful.

Cheers :)

PS - The Victorian Arts Centre isn't even named that anymore guys - As of late 2004 it was rebranded as simply 'the Arts Centre'. Yes, with a lower case 't'!

I worked there and believe me, the PR team were pedantic about it's correct name :)

MG2

I recall a wonderful article being written in the Australasian Post back in 1985 when the Arts centre was fully opened. It had all sorts of wonderful and informative information in it. John Truscott let a few of his secrets out, such as:

- The Marble in the State Theatre really isn't marble, it's just wax polished into plaster.
- There were over 4000 cows bred specially for the purpose of providing a consistent grain and colour of leather for the interior furniture and walls of the Melbourne Concert Hall.
- When the original arts centre designer Sir Roy Grounds was asked why he chose a moat in preference to landscaping around the art gallery he said that vegetation would be like giving the building hairy armpits.

I love walking along the very top of St Kilda Rd at night ! Beautiful floodlit trees and green tinged lighting all along the front of the Nat Gallery. Stunning.
It all then opens up to the pano of the city and then into Fed Sq.

Nice shots.
Is that concert hall, rounded on all sides, or is that just the one side?

Round on all sides.

I love walking along the very top of St Kilda Rd at night ! Beautiful floodlit trees and green tinged lighting all along the front of the Nat Gallery. Stunning.
It all then opens up to the pano of the city and then into Fed Sq.

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. I took these last week. (Didn't post earlier as I am on Telstra ADSL and I have to watch my bandwidth).

Enjoy! :cheers2:

Plane trees are illuminated in green along St. Kilda Road at night.
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Victorian Arts Centre (sorry - 'the Arts Centre') spire.
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Those wiggly neon things on the footpath outside the National Gallery of Victoria.
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The view across the Yarra to Flinders Street Railway Station and the city.
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Hamer Hall (former Melbourne Concert Hall) lit in purple
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PS: I am still new to night photography. Any tips appreciated!

I was also there last week taking some OS friends around the city and they were amazed at the Arts area overall and how magical it looks at night.

Round on all sides.

Great oxymoron!

LOL.

Elms are illuminated in green along St. Kilda Road at night.
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Just being pedantic, but they're not elms on St Kilda Road. They're London plane trees. Elms have a dark textured bark and smaller, darker leaves which are "crinkle cut".

Another nice point is they use blue lights in winter to highlight the bare branches.

Great photos though!

Oh dear, that is embarrasing. I know they are plane trees (Platanus x acerifolia) and was not thinking when I typed that caption. I am a horticultural scientist for goodness sake! Thanks for picking up my sloppiness, OSJ. (Blushing profusely)

Great photos, and interesting discussion: but what about Fed Square?

I remember when they were raising money to build the "Cultural Centre" in St. Kilda Road. Allegedly Roy Grounds conceived the design of the main gallery and drew it with the tip of his umbrella on the floor of an European railway carriage: now can anyone confirm or deny that? Don't ask me for my sources, but I read it somewhere. Never been to Europe, but these days, I think they clean the carriage floors.

Nice Pix!