Location: Swanston Street and Flinders Street, Melbourne
Opened: 1854 (main building was opened 1909)
For decades Melbournians have recited the famous line "meet you under the clocks", a tribute to the reputation of one of Melbourne's most famous and recognisable landmarks. The line refers to the row of clocks that sits above the main entrance to Flinders Street Station.
Flinders Street Station was originally known as the Melbourne Terminus, a series of weatherboard sheds opened by Lieutenant-Governer Charles Hotham in 1854. A single 30 metre platform serviced a steam engine that traveled from Flinders Street to Port Melbourne. A second platform was opened in 1877, with a third added in the 1890s.
The building we know today was a result of a design competition held in 1899 and won by James Fawcett and HPC Ashworth. Their design was constructed between 1905 and 1909, while one of the original Melbourne Terminus sheds was relocated to form part of the Hawthorn Train Station.
The station is four stories tall (five if you include the basement which is still occupied by stores) and ihas included a library, gym and a ballroom. The basement next to the main entrance has been occupied by 'City Hatters' since 1933. in 1926, Flinders Street was the world's busiest passenger station.
The famous clocks actually date back to the 1860's when they were purchased from England and were formally operated operated by Officers using long poles, and though they have now been automated, a plan in 1983 to have them replaced with digital displays with met with such outrage that the plan was abandoned.
Related:
Princes Bridge
Friday, 31 January 2014
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Princes Bridge - Melbourne
Location: Swanston Street, Melbourne
Opened: 4 October, 1888
The 120 metre Princes Bridge in Melbourne's CBD spans the Yarra River, connecting Swanston Street with St. Kilda road. The bridge was constructed between 1886 and 1888 in order to deal with increased traffic caused by the rapid expansion of the Gold Rush.
Named after Edward, Price of Wales, the bridge replaced a wooden toll bridge that was built in the 1840's. It now carries cars, various tram routes, cyclists and pedestrians from the city (near the famous Flinders Street Station) to destinations like Southbank, the Arts Centre, Botanic Gardens and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
Tram routes that cross the Princes Bridge service many inner South Eastern suburbs, including St. Kilda, Caulfield, Carnegie, Toorak, Prahran and Malvern.
Related:
Queens Bridge
Church St Bridge
Opened: 4 October, 1888
The 120 metre Princes Bridge in Melbourne's CBD spans the Yarra River, connecting Swanston Street with St. Kilda road. The bridge was constructed between 1886 and 1888 in order to deal with increased traffic caused by the rapid expansion of the Gold Rush.
Named after Edward, Price of Wales, the bridge replaced a wooden toll bridge that was built in the 1840's. It now carries cars, various tram routes, cyclists and pedestrians from the city (near the famous Flinders Street Station) to destinations like Southbank, the Arts Centre, Botanic Gardens and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
Tram routes that cross the Princes Bridge service many inner South Eastern suburbs, including St. Kilda, Caulfield, Carnegie, Toorak, Prahran and Malvern.
Related:
Queens Bridge
Church St Bridge
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Church Street Bridge - Richmond
Location: Church St and Chapel St, Richmond
Opened: 1923
Linking Church Street in Richmond with Chapel Street in South Yarra, the reinforced concrete arch Church Street Bridge was opened in 1923, replacing an iron girder bridge which was purchased from the British at the end of the Crimean War. The old bridge was opened in 1857.
The bridge crosses the Yarra as well as the Monash Freeway which was built next to the river in the 1960's.
The bridge is on the Victorian Heritage Register. It also supports the 78 and 79 tram route.
Related:
West Gate Bridge
Bolte Bridge
Opened: 1923
Linking Church Street in Richmond with Chapel Street in South Yarra, the reinforced concrete arch Church Street Bridge was opened in 1923, replacing an iron girder bridge which was purchased from the British at the end of the Crimean War. The old bridge was opened in 1857.
The bridge crosses the Yarra as well as the Monash Freeway which was built next to the river in the 1960's.
The bridge is on the Victorian Heritage Register. It also supports the 78 and 79 tram route.
Related:
West Gate Bridge
Bolte Bridge
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Bolte Bridge - Melbourne
Location: Melbourne
Opened: August, 1999
The 490 metre Bolte Bridge was built in 3 years (1996-1999) at a cost of $75 million. It is part of the Citylink tool road system which links the Monash Freeway to the Tullamarine and the West Gate Freeway.
Jeff Kennett, who was Premier of Victoria at the time, named the bridge after Henry Bolte, the Premier most associated with the three freeways connected by the bridge.
Interestingly, the iconic 90-metre high pillars that decorate the bridge are purely aesthetic, and are not physically connected to the bridge. The bridge carries six lanes of traffic and offers views over the Docklands, the CBD and Etihad Stadium.
Related:
West Gate Bridge
Queens Bridge
Opened: August, 1999
The 490 metre Bolte Bridge was built in 3 years (1996-1999) at a cost of $75 million. It is part of the Citylink tool road system which links the Monash Freeway to the Tullamarine and the West Gate Freeway.
Jeff Kennett, who was Premier of Victoria at the time, named the bridge after Henry Bolte, the Premier most associated with the three freeways connected by the bridge.
Interestingly, the iconic 90-metre high pillars that decorate the bridge are purely aesthetic, and are not physically connected to the bridge. The bridge carries six lanes of traffic and offers views over the Docklands, the CBD and Etihad Stadium.
Related:
West Gate Bridge
Queens Bridge
Monday, 27 January 2014
West Gate Bridge - Melbourne
Location: Yarra River, Melbourne
Opened: 1978
The 2.5 kilometre West Gate Bridge was completed in 1978 and is the second longest bridge in Australia. Carrying up to 200,000 vehicles per day, the bridge forms a link between the CBD and Geelong and is one of Melbourne's biggest corridors.
Twice as long as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the West Gate Bridge was a toll road until 1985. Speed Cameras built on the bridge in 2004 have been deactivated since 2005 as the sway of bridge causes issues in accurately identifying the speed.
On October 15, 1970, two years into the construction of the bridge, 35 workers were killed when a 112 metre section of the bridge fell 50 metres in to the water. A 1971 Royal Commission into the collapse attributed it to errors in the structural design and an unusual method of construction.
Related:
Queens Bridge
Bolte Bridge
Opened: 1978
The 2.5 kilometre West Gate Bridge was completed in 1978 and is the second longest bridge in Australia. Carrying up to 200,000 vehicles per day, the bridge forms a link between the CBD and Geelong and is one of Melbourne's biggest corridors.
Twice as long as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the West Gate Bridge was a toll road until 1985. Speed Cameras built on the bridge in 2004 have been deactivated since 2005 as the sway of bridge causes issues in accurately identifying the speed.
On October 15, 1970, two years into the construction of the bridge, 35 workers were killed when a 112 metre section of the bridge fell 50 metres in to the water. A 1971 Royal Commission into the collapse attributed it to errors in the structural design and an unusual method of construction.
Related:
Queens Bridge
Bolte Bridge
Saturday, 25 January 2014
Queens Bridge - Melbourne
Location: Queensbridge St, Melbourne
Opened: 1889.
Originally a timber footbridge built in 1860 known as Falls Bridge, Queens Bridge rests on iron cylinders with 5 spans. It was named in honour of Queen Victoria.
The bridge connects Market and Williams St with Queensbridge Street across the Yarra River. It also serves the 55 tram route.
Related:
Bolte Bridge
West Gate Bridge
Opened: 1889.
Originally a timber footbridge built in 1860 known as Falls Bridge, Queens Bridge rests on iron cylinders with 5 spans. It was named in honour of Queen Victoria.
The bridge connects Market and Williams St with Queensbridge Street across the Yarra River. It also serves the 55 tram route.
Related:
Bolte Bridge
West Gate Bridge
Friday, 24 January 2014
Eureka Tower - Melbourne
Location: Southbank
Opened: 11 October, 2006.
At a startling 297.3 metres, the Eureka Tower is the tallest building in Melbourne and the second tallest in Australia (behind the Q1 building on the Gold Coast). It superseded the height of the Rialto in 2004.
Named after the Eureka Stockade, a defining moment in the history of Victoria, construction began on the tower in August 2001 and took 4 years and 2 months to complete. The windows of the top 10 floors are built of 24 carat gold.
The entire 88th floor houses the highest public viewing platform in the southern hemisphere. The skydeck also features a glass cube known as The Edge which protrudes 3 metres out of the building.
Related:
Orica House
Rialto Towers
Opened: 11 October, 2006.
At a startling 297.3 metres, the Eureka Tower is the tallest building in Melbourne and the second tallest in Australia (behind the Q1 building on the Gold Coast). It superseded the height of the Rialto in 2004.
Named after the Eureka Stockade, a defining moment in the history of Victoria, construction began on the tower in August 2001 and took 4 years and 2 months to complete. The windows of the top 10 floors are built of 24 carat gold.
The entire 88th floor houses the highest public viewing platform in the southern hemisphere. The skydeck also features a glass cube known as The Edge which protrudes 3 metres out of the building.
Related:
Orica House
Rialto Towers
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