Step back into the 1800s: New app allows users to see Melbourne's city streets as they haven't been seen for hundreds of years



The State Library of Victoria has begun digitising their collection of 300,000 images to make them more accessible

Street History: Hoddle's Grid, the library's new app, has 300 photographs of Melbourne's CBD dating back to 1840

Using people's location, it shows images of nearby buildings, street views and aerial photographs alongside stories

The State Library plans to extend the project to suburbs, with plans to digitise at least 75,000 more photographs in the next year




A new app, put together by the State Library of Victoria, allows users to virtually step back onto the city streets of Melbourne in the 1800s to experience the city's rich history and the majesty behind some of its old architecture.



The mobile phone program was developed in a bid to engage the Library's audience in a new way while making a fraction of their collection of 300,000 photographs more accessible.

Using up to 300 photographs, Street History: Hoddle's Grid uses your location to show nearby buildings, street views and aerial photographs - as well as the stories of each location- from as early as 1840.



'There's kind of a perception that the old city of Melbourne has been progressively demolished over the years, but one of the fascinating things is once you're aware of what lies beneath the surface, you realise that old Melbourne is still there - it's just hidden,' Peter McMahon, the State Library of Victoria's director of digital strategy said.

Flinders Street Station (left) was completed in 1910. It is now Melbourne's busiest station (right), used by over 100,000 people every day. In 2013 the State Government announced a billion dollar refurbishment, to include a water-front amphitheatre and a market whilst still retaining the iconic dome and arched entrance The Cromwell Buildings (pictured left in 1954) were a six storied brick building on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke Streets, built in the early 1890s, and was home to the Melbourne School of Art and Nettleberg's Furriers. The building was sold to the Bank of Australasia in 1946 and demolished in the 1970s. It was replaced with an office block, which then gave way to a busy shopping mall

The New Colonial Bank of Australasia was a three storey building on the corner of Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets, constructed in 1880. After demolition, the doorway was placed on the facade of the Chemistry School in the grounds of the University of Melbourne. Following the demolition of the school, the doorway was placed at an exit from the university's underground car park. It is now a set of shops

'For instance, I noticed the other day that if you look at the Princess Theatre and look at earlier photos, part of the facade is missing – the front of the building as it's currently presented is very different. 'It’s an old building so you'd expect it to look the way it used to look. But you can see how things have changed. A lot of things have evolved with the times, but buildings are still there.

'Another obvious interesting point is where buildings have just disappeared. One of the sad loses of the city was the old Melbourne fish markets. They were an extraordinary set of old Gothic buildings down at the far end of Flinders Street - they were demolished in 1956 and replaced with a car park.' Built in 1888, the Federal Coffee Palace stood at the corner of Collins and King Streets - once the largest hotel in Australia. It went broke, along with many other Melbourne businesses and re-opened in 1923 with an alcohol licence, as the Federal Hotel. It contained over 400 bedrooms, billiards rooms and dining room, with a sign over the entrance which read 'Stay here. You'll be welcome'. Sadly, it was demolished in 1973 for office accommodation Melbourne Fish Market stood to the east of Flinders Street Station ( left) , built in 1890. It was an ornate building, featuring spires and a clock tower, and covering 23,000 square metres. It was demolished in 1956 for a car park and Flinders Street flyover when Melbourne wanted to modernise its appearance for the 1956 Olympic Games

The competition to design the State Library of Victoria was won by Joseph Reed, the architect of many of Melbourne's notable buildings. The first Library building (left) opened in February 1856, during the Victorian gold rush. The current building (right), which is in fact made up of 23 buildings, takes up an entire city block

The app began being designed when the Library noticed the sheer interest in their images as well as urban history amongst the general public.

'The proportion of files being accessed via our catalogue were images, and this had gone up 300 per cent in a two year period,' Mr McMahon said. 'We also noticed an emergence in interest in urban history and a lot of our images are appearing on the web in context of people really getting into what the city used to look like.' The bluestone Melbourne Gaol (left) on Russell Street was built in the mid 1800s and housed both male and female criminals. During its operation it housed many hardened criminals, as well as petty offenders, the mentally ill and the homeless. It was the site of over 130 hangings, including bushranger Ned Kelly in 1880. The last hanging occurred in 1924. The doors were finally closed in 1929. Today (right) it is a tourist attraction and is managed by the National Trust of Australiaac The Royal Arcade was opened in 1870 (left) and is Melbourne's oldest arcade. It features statues of the mythical characters Gog and Magog on either side of Gaunt's Clock. Royal Arcade now (right) offers boutique shopping beneath an elegant glass ceiling. The high, graceful arches reflect the European influence in the building The former Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company Building (left) was constructed in 1891. It developed Melbourne's first horse tramway system, and Melbourne's extensive cable tram system from 1885

But it wont just be the CBD that app users get to explore. The State Library also has plans to digitise at least 75,000 more photographs in the next year alone, revealing the historical streetscapes of the suburbs between Collingwood and Fitzroy, as well as some suburbs right up to the south of Melbourne. 'The reason it's called Street History is because we started with intentions of extending it into a series,' Mr McMahon said.

'The feedback we've received from our social media communities is people love the app and they're saying "when are you going to do my suburb?" 'It can certainly extend out to even regional areas; the gold fields are a perfect opportunity and point in history. We have a very rich collection for the early gold days and virtually every area has a rich history.' The original Melbourne Hospital opened in 1848 and initially only had 10 beds, increasing to 20 beds within the first year. The hospital continued to grow, with further building additions, until 1867. It became known as the Royal Melbourne Hospital and moved to Parkville in 1940s. The site was used as the Central Hospital from 1944-46, and then re-opened as the Queen Victoria Hospital, which was one of the few hospitals for women and run by women The Rialto is a Venetian style building (left) which opened in 1891. Originally a commercial building, it had space for 300 offices and 14 warehouses. The gothic towers, balconettes and arched windows were inspired by the palazzos of Venice. Early occupants were the Melbourne wool exchange and Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works Cole's Book Arcade opened in 1883 (left) in what is now the Bourke Street Mall (right). It boasted over two million new and second hand books and was famous around the world. The store offered a jovial atmosphere for its customers with a pianist, a fernery and menagerie, along with toys and a confectionery department. Cole encouraged customers to read without buying

The Scots' Church, made of sandstone and limestone (left) , is a Presbyterian Church which opened in 1873. The Church features magnificent stained glass windows depicting the Last Supper. The 120 feet high spire, the tallest structure in Melbourne in the 1880s and 1890s, was damaged by lightning in 1963 and lowered in height. However, in 1989 the spire was rebuilt to its original height (right)

St Francis Church is the oldest Catholic Church in Melbourne, built originally as a wooden church in 1841 (left). It was rebuilt and reopened in 1845 and subsequently had various features added. It is still very popular today (right) - with more than 10,000 weekly attendees 400 Flinders St: Customs House was completed in 1858 (left). Its construction reflected Melbourne's burgeoning economy following the goldrush and the influx of imports. A typical example of Melbourne's public buildings of the time, its four columns reflect the Italian Renaissance style. On the first floor is the majestic Long Room, which now acts as the main exhibition space for the Immigration Museum (right)

405 Flinders Lane: The Port Authority Building was finished in 1931 (left) during the Depression. It sits opposite Customs house and is a reminder of Melbourne's early burgeoning harbour activity. The flat roof, solid base, the four columns and classic detailing reflects the influence of the Beaux-Arts style. In 1933, the building won the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects' Street Architecture Medal. The Port Authority relocated in 1982. It is now a residential site (right)





