The Immigration Museum occupies the Old Customs House, a grand nineteenth-century building on Flinders Street defined by its monumental ceremonial staircase and iconic Ionic colonnades. When it opened in nineteen ninety-eight, the…
Melbourne’s Golden Mile
We will walk through Melbourne’s central district to admire the grand nineteenth-century architecture and elegant shopping arcades built during the gold rush era.
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1. Immigration Museum
2. Royal Arcade
The Royal Arcade is the oldest surviving shopping arcade in Australia, easily recognized by its soaring glass roof and a distinct, black-and-white checkered floor. Designed by architect Charles Webb after a competition in eighteen…
3. The Block Arcade
The Block Arcade is an L-shaped shopping hall defined by its soaring glass canopy and intricate mosaic-tiled floors. Built between eighteen ninety-one and eighteen ninety-three, the arcade was designed by architect David C. Askew to…
4. Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall is defined by its corner clock tower, known as Prince Alfred’s Tower, which rises above the intersection of Swanston and Collins streets. Designed in the Second Empire style by architect Joseph Reed, the building…
5. Athenaeum Theatre
The Athenaeum Theatre on Collins Street is distinguished by its neoclassical, three-story facade, which is crowned by a parapet housing a statue of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and the arts. Founded in eighteen thirty-nine as the…
6. Scots’ Church Melbourne
The Scots’ Church stands out for its tall, slender spire reaching toward the sky, a feature that defined the city’s skyline for decades during the late nineteenth century. Built from distinctive honey-colored Barrabool freestone, the…
7. The Hotel Windsor
The Hotel Windsor stands on Spring Street, defined by its twin cupola-capped towers and the Stawell stone facade that anchors this corner of the Parliament Precinct. Opened in eighteen eighty-four as The Grand Hotel, it is the only…
8. Princess Theatre
The Princess Theatre on Spring Street is identifiable by its ornate French Second Empire facade, which features a mansard roof, decorative ironwork, and a pediment topped with a figure of Fame. Originally established as Astley's…
9. Royal Exhibition Building
The Royal Exhibition Building rises above the Carlton Gardens with a massive octagonal dome modeled after the cathedral in Florence. Architect Joseph Reed designed the structure to embody the wealth and ambition of Melbourne during the…