Architectural, Cultural sights in Melbourne
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A
Young & Jackson’s
Across the street from Flinders Street Station you’ll find the city’s most iconic pub. Apart from the fact that it’s been continuously serving beer here since 1861, it’s known for the painting that graces the wall upstairs. Chloe, painted by Jules Joseph Lefebvre, is an academic-style painting of a naked young woman with luminous skin and dark hair. Her yearning gaze, cast over her shoulder and out of the frame, was a hit at the Paris Salon of 1875. The painting caused an outcry in the pursed-lipped provincial Melbourne, however, and was removed from display at the National Gallery of Victoria. Eventually bought by publican and ‘art lover’ Henry Figsby Young in 19…
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B
Como House
This grand colonial residence overlooking the Yarra was begun in 1840, and underwent renovations up till 1959. The building has been faithfully restored by the National Trust and contains some of the Armytage family’s belongings, the last and longest owners. (Of course it’s all a matter of taste, but their period-furnishing style can seem more hysterical than stately.) The extensive well-tended grounds are faithful to 19th-century landscaping principles and include a croquet lawn and magnificent flower walks. Tours take around an hour: the first is at 10.30am, and then half-hourly until 3.30pm.
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C
Tasma Terrace
The three-storey, grey-stuccoed terraces comprising Tasma Terrace were built in 1879 and designed by Charles Webb, who also designed the famous Windsor Hotel. These are one of Melbourne’s finest Victorian terrace rows, with exquisite cast-iron verandas and a restrained ecclesiastical air. They are owned by the National Trust – an organisation dedicated to preserving historically significant buildings across the state – which has its offices here.
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D
See Yup Temple
Prayers have floated heavenward here since 1866 and it’s still a working place of worship. The high-Victorian architecture is infused with many traditional Chinese elements and the space is embellished with exquisite hand-carved artefacts from Guangzhou. Three memorial halls off the main temple space hold the only existing records of the lives of around 13, 000 early Chinese immigrants who died in Australia.
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E
State Library of Victoria
Built in stages from 1854, the State Library of Victoria boasts a classical revival facade; millions of maps, pictures, books and other publications; and the striking, octagonal, domed La Trobe Reading Room to savour them in.
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