Mid-Century Modern Downtown

This walk reveals the sleek skyscrapers, terrazzo lobbies, and striking mid-century landmarks that reshaped Melbourne's skyline during the post-war architectural boom. It's an easy way to appreciate the clean-lined design legacy hiding just above the city's famous Victorian shopfronts.

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1. Total House

The Total House on Russell Street stands out for its bold, raw concrete facade and the massive, spiraling car park ramp that snakes up its exterior. Completed in nineteen sixty-five, the building was an early attempt to integrate parking…

2. The Lyceum Club

The Lyceum Club occupies a limestone building on Ridgway Place, distinguished by its restrained Georgian revival facade and the arched windows looking out over the narrow lane. Founded in nineteen twelve, the club emerged when Constance…

3. 2/60 Collins St

The narrow, dark brick facade at two Collins Street stands apart from the grand colonnades of its neighbors. This building served as the former home of the Melbourne Club, established in eighteen thirty-eight by pioneers who sought a…

4. 303 Collins St

The Bank of Australasia building at three hundred three Collins Street features an ornate facade of carved limestone, decorated with stone figures representing mining, commerce, and agriculture. Completed in nineteen oh five, the building…

5. 430 Collins St

Four hundred thirty Collins Street holds a tall, bronze-colored facade that breaks the rhythm of the surrounding grey stone and glass. This is the former Stock Exchange Building, constructed in eighteen ninety-one. It housed the city's…

6. Eagle House

Eagle House on Bourke Street carries a facade of dark, polished granite that sets it apart from the surrounding limestone buildings. Built in nineteen twenty-seven, it served as the headquarters for the Australasian Temperance and General…

7. 140 William St

One hundred forty William Street features a distinct, waffle-patterned concrete facade that hangs over the sidewalk like a heavy, inverted pyramid. Designed by architects Yuncken Freeman, the tower rose in nineteen seventy-two to serve as…

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