State Library Victoria: The changing face of a Melbourne institution

Updated

Melbourne's State Library Victoria has seen many changes since it opened 160 years ago.

Opening as Melbourne Public Library in 1856, the library initially consisted of a single building fronting Swanston Street.

The library is now made up of 23 separate buildings, taking up an entire city block.

Melbourne Public Library opens

February 11, 1856

The Melbourne Public Library opens its doors to anyone over the age of 14 who can demonstrate that they have clean hands.

The library consists of the central section of the building seen from Swanston Street today.

The library expands

May 24, 1859

The library's South Wing is completed, including the extended Queen's Hall, named in honour of Queen Victoria.

An article in the Argus newspaper the following day notes that the opening oratory was delivered by president of the library Justice Redmond Barry (later Sir), in a "clear and well-modulated voice", and that:

" ... it will be unnecessary to say more of the appearance of the Queen's Reading Room than that, in a similar institution, there is hardly its equal in point of beauty and convenience either on the European continent or in England."

The library becomes symmetrical with the completion of the North Wing in 1864.

Intercolonial Exhibition

October 24, 1866

The Rotunda and Great Hall are constructed for the Intercolonial Exhibition of 1866.

The Intercolonial Exhibition buildings are later demolished to make way for the Domed Reading Room.

Swanston Street portico 'imposing'

October 28, 1870

The library begins to look more like the building we know today, with the completion of the portico at the front entrance.

An article in the Benalla Ensign says the newly completed portico makes the building "one of the most imposing in the city".

Domed Reading Room opens

November 14, 1913

Governor-general Lord Denman officially opens the Domed Reading Room, which was commissioned for the library's jubilee.

Designed to emulate London's British Museum and Washington's Library of Congress, the dome is 114 feet in diameter and 114 feet high.

More than 100 years later the room is described by current State Library of Victoria chief executive Kate Torney as "probably the most photographed room in Melbourne".

Opening of La Trobe Library

September 6, 1965

Built to bring together the library's many Australiana collections under one roof, premier Sir Henry Bolte officially opens the La Trobe Library.

The building, which fronts onto La Trobe Street, has taken 14 years to construct from the time the foundation stone was laid.

Library redevelopment begins

1990

A massive redevelopment of the library begins, including the construction of new modern buildings and the refurbishment of historical ones.

The redevelopment is completed in 2007.

Five-year redevelopment begins

2015

A new $83 million redevelopment project will see Queens Hall restored and the library's Russell Street entrance reopened, along with the creation of a new innovation hub and dedicated spaces for children and families.

Work is expected to be completed in 2020.

Morphing through the decades

The timeline above only includes some of the many buildings that have been constructed, and demolished, at the library site throughout its history.

A video produced by State Library Victoria shows a computer-generated 3D rendering of the changes to the library over time.

774 ABC Melbourne broadcasts Radio-in-Residence at the State Library until February 29.

Topics: library-museum-and-gallery, 19th-century, 20th-century, architecture, human-interest, melbourne-3000

First posted