Buildings & streets

Elevated view of Domed Reading Room, State Library of Victoria, 1984, H84.376/2

The dais in the Dome

July 17, 2023

Buildings & streets, Our stories, People & professions, Such was life, Victorian history:

Once upon a time a staff member sat in the Dais in the La Trobe Reading Room, watching over any chattering public. We asked two long term SLV librarians how this used to work.

From the Seine to the Yarra: Art Deco in Melbourne

From the Seine to the Yarra: Art Deco in Melbourne

November 15, 2022

Ask a librarian, Buildings & streets:

Are you a lover of Art Deco architecture? Take a tour of Melbourne city and discover the Art Deco gems we have right here.

The Smith Trams and Trains Collection

The Smith Trams and Trains Collection

August 6, 2020

Buildings & streets, Photography, Such was life:

The Library has recently digitised hundreds of images of Victorian trams and trains captured by a visiting enthusiast in the 1960s.

The Crossley Building: past, present and future

The Crossley Building: past, present and future

July 17, 2020

Buildings & streets, People & professions, Such was life:

The Crossley Building on Bourke Street holds the history of one of Melbourne’s earliest, pre gold-rush retail and residential developments. For 60 years it was home to the iconic haberdashery business, Job Warehouse, which closed in 2012. Untenanted ever since and significantly run-down, where to next for this important piece of Melbourne’s built heritage?

Discovering Diener’s Ice Works: part two

Discovering Diener’s Ice Works: part two

June 21, 2020

Buildings & streets, People & professions, Research guides, Research tips & tricks, Social life & customs, Such was life, War:

The second and final part of a blog about flâneurs and research in the time of covid-19 As you can read in part one, this blog was inspired by daily… Read More ›

Time travelling with Sands & McDougall

Time travelling with Sands & McDougall

June 16, 2020

Buildings & streets, People & professions, Such was life:

Bell hangers and nightmen, leech merchants and lightermen; these are just some of the nineteenth century characters you may find lurking within the pages of a Sands & McDougall directory.

Discovering Diener’s Ice Works: part one

Discovering Diener’s Ice Works: part one

June 8, 2020

Buildings & streets, People & professions, Research guides, Research tips & tricks, Social life & customs, Such was life, War:

This is the first of a two-part blog about flâneurs and research in the time of covid-19 A daily walk has become an essential part of many people’s routines in… Read More ›

On the ‘shick’ in Little Lon

On the ‘shick’ in Little Lon

April 16, 2020

Buildings & streets, Social life & customs, Such was life:

Of all the slums in inner Melbourne, ‘Little Lon’, was the most notorious. But there was more to the precinct than met the eye…

Walking the blue lake

Walking the blue lake

April 16, 2019

Buildings & streets, Cities & towns, Our stories:

Dr David Sornig ponders the history of West Melbourne’s lost wetlands, and takes us on a collective journey around the area.

Melbourne’s lost department stores

Melbourne’s lost department stores

March 6, 2019

Buildings & streets, Our stories, Social life & customs:

Melbourne and shopping have been hand in glove since the 1880s, and at its peak the city flaunted more than a dozen department stores.