Open House Melbourne!

Thanks to a post on the MUSEX (Melbourne University Student Exchange Society) Facebook group page, I learned about this awesome weekend event called Open House Melbourne. Basically, 111 of Melbourne's buildings were open to the public for tours and exploration to help individuals learn more about the architecture, along with history, behind buildings that are generally closed off to the public. 

I originally planned to visit the 6 buildings listed at the top, but due to an insanely long line at the Museum of Anatomy, I decided to skip it. When I got to the Melbourne City baths, they weren't open yet, so I decided to skip that one, too. So I ended up checking out the 7 buildings on the bottom, which was still just as fun!

Royal Melbourne Hospital Tunnels & Towers.

We were able to go underneath the hospital and learned that the underground tunnels connect the Royal Melbourne Hospital to both the Children's Hospital and the University of Melbourne. Even engineers get lost in the tunnels sometime and need maps to help orient themselves. When it comes to power, it is EXTREMELY unlikely for the facility to actually lose power. They have backup diesel generators in addition to uninterruptible power supply. We saw one of the diesel generators - it was HUGE! Afterward, I went to check out the helipad and got a great view of the city.

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Melbourne City Baths.

I wanted to check this place out, but I got there before they had their "open house" and I didn't want to wait. Looks pretty cool from the outside though!

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No. 1 Spring Street.

This building was pretty cool in that all of its support is on granite pillars 15 meters apart surrounding the building. Each office space is able to have windows due to the way the building stands. We were able to go up to the 15th floor to get a spectacular view of the Treasury Gardens, the Treasury Reserve and St. Patrick's Cathedral. 

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Old Treasury Building.

This building had tons of history, from Victoria's initial gold rush to infamous criminal cases involving Squizzy Taylor and Colin Ross. They currently have an exhibition on display called "Built on Gold" showcasing the gold vaults built. However, since the Old Treasury Building was built after the initial gold rush, it's believed that it didn't hold half as much gold as was intended. 


There was also a really nice guy who lived in Santa Barbara for 20 years dressed as a tram conductor, handing out old tickets and pennies. He wants to bring back tram conductors and get rid of the Myki! 

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Treasury Reserve.

 On this tour we got to take a look at the Federal buildings along Treasury Place. We were able to walk inside 2 Treasury Place and view the staircase which was once taken out, just to be put back in years later. There was also pretty stained glass windows in that building, too. Then we checked out 3 Treasury Place which has a heritage staircase. When they reconstructed the building, they could not take out the stairs, so instead they sit in a corner, roped off as they cannot be used. How strange! Then we saw another building which stored surveys and on the outside, they had these steel plates which they would pull over all of the windows at night to make sure fires wouldn't start and destroy all of the information. We also saw where the printing press used to be - it printed tickets from the 1956 Olympic Games! 

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Tasma Terrace.

An interesting looking building, this building used to hold boarders coming to visit Melbourne. The different rooms were very elegant and the city worked hard to keep Tasma Terrace intact when there were plans of demolition for an office building. This was also the site of the "Parliament Place Tragedy." Edith Jane Forrester Jubb allegedly murdered herself with two bullet shots to the head. There was controversy on whether it was actually suicide though since the gun was found in her left hand and she was right handed. Lots of interesting stuff.

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St. Patrick's Cathedral.

I'm not really a big fan of churches, but every big church I've ever gone in has amazed me. This church was no different. Beautiful from both the outside and inside. The ceilings were cavernous and the stained glass windows were beautiful, everything you would expect a church to have! I'm not sure if it's just me or what, but do all churches smell the same? I'm pretty sure St. Patrick's Cathedral smells exactly like Notre Dame in Paris. 

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Intercontinental Hotel The Rialto.

This was really cool because both the Rialto and the Winfield were built between 1890 and 1891. They were listed as heritage sites and could not be demolished. Therefore, when remodeled, the buildings were connected into a hotel with an atrium and the outer bricks of each building still visible. The hydraulic lifts can still be seen in Winfield, which was used for wool storage. The urinals on site have been preserved, too, in order to keep it's social history! 

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A day well spent!

All in all, it was a great day of exploring Melbourne and its culture and architecture. I think it's great that they have something like this and it was amazing to see all of the people taking advantage of it. I'm happy the city works so hard to preserve all of its older buildings and the history behind them. Below are some more pictures from my day - enjoy!