Melbourne Buildings you wish hadn't been demolished.



Progress is good and Melbourne wouldn't have many of the great modern buildings it has today it "some" hadn't been demolished in the past.



That said I think most would agree that developers got carried away in the 70s/80s and that short-sightedness during this period saw the destruction of many buildings that would be treasured if they remained today.



Here's my Top 10 in no particular order. If there are any buildings you passionately feel shouldn't have been lost, feel free to post. (I would have liked to have added pics but I don't seem to be permitted).



My Lost Melbourne Top 10



1. Federal Coffee Palace Hotel, Collins St. Big, grand, and should still be around. So what if it fell into disrepair.



2. Fish Market, Flinders St. Words fail me why this staggeringly beautiful building was demolished. Perfect book end to Flinders St Station. And the only really intersting old building in this part of town.



3. Hotel Australia, Collins St. Not much to look at on the outside but the interior contained a large deco dining room/ballroom and cinema. Eisenhower stayed here during WW2 apparently.



4. Tivoli Theatre, Bourke St. Have never seen a picture of this but from what I've heard it was one of Melbourne's best.



5. Melba Cinema/Theatre, Bourke St (opposite Tivoli). Really cool looking building.



6. Howey House, Collins St. One of Melbourne's finest Deco buildings where the architecturally average Sportsgirl Centre now is.



7. Southern Cross Hotel, Russell/Bourke Sts. Criminal loss of Melbourne's only significant 60's modern building of its type. :bash: :bash:



8. Original Capitol Theatre entrance, Capitol Theatre, Swanston St. Originally the foyer to the Capitol was where the bland shopping arcade now stands. Designed by Walter Burley, it mirrored his amazing cinema interior and came with the most stunning looking ticket-booth I've ever seen.



9. Menzies Hotel, William St. Arguably grander than the Windsor. IMO definitely a far more elegant building. Anyone know why/how this treasure was lost? :bash:



10. APA Skyscraper Building, Elizabeth St. There's a pic of this very tall-for-its-time building in another thread and just seeing it makes me want to weep. Fantastic building that was flippantly demolished because of fire regulations.



Special mention goes to the entire city block on the corner of Collins and Swanston, where Queens Walk arcade, a deco buliding and several Victorian buildings stood. It's ironic that the Melb council allowed this whole block to be demolished to create a city square in the 70s. Then 25 years later after they realised it hadn't worked, they allow a new hotel to be built on the same site.