Historic Photo of the Day

[spiralout]

Originally Posted by Yardmaster

This looks very familiar to me, but I can't quite place it ... maybe it's just the style. Bourke St, west of Elizibeth? What was, McEwans?

No, it's Elizibeth Street: straight opposite the post-office (which no longer exists as such). It's where I buy cheap books. A tragedy indeed. Look what replaced it.

I think you're referring to the Cromwell buildings

Originally Posted by The Collector

Another shot of the Cromwell Buildings.

[spiralout]

Prell's

Originally Posted by The Collector

Agree with Grollo on the Prell's buildings.
You can see two in this image on the left facing Queen Street.
I'm sure we all know that the one on the corner of Collins and Queen Streets had a tower added and became the APA (L&G) building.

[spiralout]

Thanks to The Collector.
Australia building – 3rd tallest in the world at the time

2) The Australian Building (APA) on Elizabeth Street.
An engineering marvel and once one of the tallest buildings in the world.


4) The Finks Building on Flinders Street.


7) The cluster of buildings along the northern side of the west-end of Collins Street.

[jpsolarized]

wow...they literally swept away Melbourne's top of the top......so sad

[spiralout]

Melbourne at one time was reputedly the richest city in the world.

I've heard that in the late 1800's Melbourne's skyline was actually up there with new york and Chicago too

[Dimethyltryptamine]

Melbourne is the youngest of all of the 'world cities'. Melbourne grew from a tiny speculative pastoral outpost in the 1850s into a world city within a mere 30 years, reaching around 1 million people by the turn of the century. Much of this phenomenal growth was due to the gold rush - one of the biggest in the world's history, which saw a huge influx of migrants bring instant wealth and propsperity to the city. In the 1880's Melbourne was given the title 'Marvellous Melbourne', and boasted a city that rivalled the great cities of Europe and North America. The city hosted the 1880 World's Fair, in the Royal Exhibition Building, which hosted the first parliament and still stands in the magnificent Carlton Gardens. The city was, until Canberra was built in the late 1920s, from 1901 the federal capital of Australia. Although Sydney eventually grew larger, Melbourne still remains the sporting and cultural capital of the nation.

Royal Exhibition Building (1880 World Fair) prior to the demolition of the annexes in the 1950s/1960s




Melbourne boomtime panorama of one of the world's earliest great skyscraper cities, however 1950s council fire regulations ensured that only a handful of examples are left




The 13 storey Queen Anne styled Australian Building in Melbourne was credited to have been the world's tallest building in 1889 (although it was probably 3rd or 4th tallest). It was later stripped down and gutted in the 1950s before final demolition in 1980.


so yea

[Inego]

An epic couple of pages guys - being a Sydneysider, big ups to Aussie Dude! I walked past many of the remaining buildings in his post this AM, and remember a bunch of the others. And were the '70s really that long ago? They sure look it, but don't really feel it to me.

[Fabian]

Gold Coast beaches battered by high seas, 1967

[The Collector]

Originally Posted by Yardmaster

This looks very familiar to me, but I can't quite place it ... maybe it's just the style. Bourke St, west of Elizabeth? What was, McEwans?

It once stood on the northeast corner of Swanston and Little Collins Streets, Melbourne, originally the first T&G Building and then became the Town Hall Chambers.

McEwan’s became Bunnings and is now known as The Foundry, and is on Bourke Street.

You can see it in the postcard below as the T & G Building.



How it looked in the early 1960’s as the Town Hall Chambers.

[city_thing]

In some of the photos posted above, Melbourne looks like a mini Chicago (around the 1910's). It's amazing how decorative and tall the buildings were. My God I wish they were still around.

[Aussie Dude]

second overload....


more of sydney from the past... people and places...

Hope you guys enjoyed the last lot.... hopefully more to come... and hope i dont get into trouble from the archives haha

[spiralout]

Originally Posted by acc521

Reminds me of the random arches you find in Europe. Now something like that would be unique and an attraction in its own right in Australia. Brilliant!

Actually Melbourne seemed to go right to town on the whole arch thing...ridiculous really

[Max Patterson]

Great compilation
kinda highlights just how crap the Centenary of Federation Arch was, eh

Originally Posted by spiralout

best looking one that, would be nice to see something like that again.. instead of the bizarre'o trumpet thing



I would have been happy to lose a lane or 2 on the princes bridge to have this again

[Inego]

Thanks again ADude - that view of the march in Macquaries St (Great White Fleet?) shows just how imposing the Metropole was. And a great idea interspersing the social shots!

Kent

[Fabian]

South Steyne Surf Club, Manly NSW, 1980

[Aussie Bhoy]

1975 Sydney

[Inego]

Nice - So the big 4 at the northern end of town (l-r) are SOB,CAGA, Oz Sq (or is it QANTAS?) and AMP aren't they?

And the lovely old hydrofoils - that lower foredeck was pretty empty in the middle of the day, as my now wife and I discovered once.....

[Fabian]

I loved the hydrofoils. Nice sight on the harbour. I think I was nearly 5 when I rode on them to Manly because I remember the spray soaking the windows.

You can see 201 Elizabeth Street under construction behind the hydrofoil.

[zulu69]

Originally Posted by Inego

And the lovely old hydrofoils - that lower foredeck was pretty empty in the middle of the day, as my now wife and I discovered once.....

Oh they weren't empty

[Aussie Bhoy]

The hydrofoils were great, used to be cool watching them on the harbour, especially as they first lifted out of the water.

Riding them if you wanted a view the best place was the top outdoor deck. The window viewing main deck was covered in water spray, especially the front. It's a shame they never kept them going, the jet cats may have been close in speed, but they lack that "Thunderbirds" coolness.