Melbourne by Night
As with many cities Melbourne at night becomes a different place. Lighting and colour add to and emphasise many of the buildings and streets. One rainy night in August I headed out on the trams to capture some of the city.
The Bourke Street entrance to Myer. Sidney Myer arrived in Australia in 1899 from Russia. The first Myer store opened in Bendigo in 1900 and was followed by the acquisition of a drapers shop on Bourke Street in 1911. As the Myer stores began to prosper Sidney Myer began to buy up the adjoining stores in Bourke St and so the Myer Emporium was born.
More than just a casino, the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex comprises two hotels, numerous fashion stores, restaurants, food courts, multiplex cinema, electronic games arena and, of course, a casino.
Originally opened in 1854 as the City Terminus, Flinders St Station is one of the icons of Melbourne. The more well known station buildings were designed by JW Fawcett and PC Ashworth in 1899 and was built between 1901 and 1910. Platform No. 1, where Epping & Hurstbridge line trains depart, is the longest railway platform in Australia, and the fourth longest in the world, at 708 metres long.
Originally the site on the corner of Flinders St and Swanston St held a home for John Batman’s children until the building was demolished and the Princes Bridge Hotel was built and opened in 1861. Two Irish diggers, Henry Young and Thomas Jackson, took over the Hotel in 1875 and gave the place it’s alternate name – Young and Jackson Pub.
Sometimes known as the Hamer Hall, the circular Melbourne Concert Hall is part of the Arts Centre and was originally to be built underground. However, the quality of the area was deemed unsuitable and the hall now sits above ground. The Melbourne Concert Hall opened in 1982.
