Hi there all, I'm so happy to see so many brilliant contributions by so many members of this expanding community and so sorry that I haven't been here in far too long myself!
But I have never forgotten about you 
I have been looking for something new to put up in here but it has been hard during lockdown and winter to get out to get any new photos of the amazing architecture in the great city, so I was happy to arrange my first vaccination to be at the Royal Exhibition Building in the majestic Carlton Gardens a few days ago and spent as much time as I could and took as many photos as I could while I was there. [//]:# (!pinmapple -37.804311 lat 144.971685 long My tour of the grand masterpiece of architecture that is the historical Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens d3scr)
Originally occupied by the Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, the area now known as Carlton Gardens was first set aside for public use in 1852. Built for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition, the Royal Exhibition Building has held some of the most important events in Victoria and Australia’s history, including Australia’s first Federal Parliament and the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. https://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-programs-and-initiatives/royal-exhibition-building-and-carlton-gardens
To be honest, in my 15yrs of living in Melbourne, although I have walked through Carlton Gardens thousands of times and always looked up and admired the opulent design of the #architecture of the building, I have never been inside the Royal Exhibition Building, but I did film the Queen and Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh there with former Prime Minister John Howard back in 2006 as they were leaving a luncheon in their honour after opening the Commonwealth Games.
These images below are screen grabs that I took from footage I shot on a Sony pd170 video camera (which is why you can see the interlacing lines in the stills...) for SKA Story, which was a current affairs program that I was producing for SKA TV which broadcast on C31 here in Melbourne and here's the FB page that I created https://www.facebook.com/Melbourne-Media-Archive-766715383460614 of the SKA TV collection that myself and a couple of colleagues are the official custodians of that 23yr collection and tasked to digitise it under the banner of Melbourne Media Archive. https://melbournemediaarch.wixsite.com/melb-media-archive (Just so there's no confusion about the copyright on these images....)
Anyway, lets first explore the grand opulence of the exterior to see the ornate decorative moldings that were first designed for the great international exhibitions of 1880 and 1888 in Melbourne. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1131/
Despite the fact that this looks it could and should be the front entrance because of it's grand design, it's actually one of the 2 side doors.
The building and grounds were designed by Joseph Reed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Reed_(architect)
And getting in closer to capture the overall design and intricate molding work in detail.
The building is constructed of brick and timber, steel and slate.
I had to point the camera up cause I'm not tall enough to be on a level with this top cornices. alcatraves and ornaments I'm sorry...
Although from the outside it looks like there would be 3 levels in there, it's not because if all completely open plan on the inside.
This angle is taken from the back corner which has a wide pathway that connects to the Melbourne Museum.
This angle was shot on the opposite side- the front corner and you can just see the wall of the Melbourne Museum in the left hand side of the frame.
It combines elements from the Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance styles.
This angle is now looking at the front entrance from the front corner
The exhibition building was constructed as a Great Hall, a permanent building initially intended to house the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880 and the subsequent 1888 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition.
These were the largest events staged in colonial Australia and helped to introduce the world to Australian industry and technology.
This building is cruciform in plan and incorporates the typical architectural template of earlier exhibition buildings: namely a dome, great portal entries, viewing platforms, towers, and fanlight windows.
The formal Carlton Gardens, with its tree-lined pathways, fountains and lakes, is an integral part of the overall site design and also characteristic of exhibition buildings of this period.
Now are you ready to go inside and check out the interior design of this stunning building?
The 1880 Great Hall survives substantially intact in its form and design, internally and externally
Authenticity of form is manifest in its survival as the only Great Hall from a major industrial exhibition of the late 19th and early 20th century
Interior spaces have been largely retained and are once again used for large-scale exhibitions demonstrating a relatively high authenticity of function within the Great Hall
These were the largest events staged in colonial Australia and helped to introduce the world to Australian industry and technology.
In 1994, major restoration work included the reworking of the interior colour scheme to the documented era of 1901
The ornate internal paintings have mostly been replaced by the third decorative scheme of 1901, however, parts of the 1880 murals are still intact.
The property of the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens has retained high authenticity of setting, maintaining its original form on the international exhibition site defined in 1879.
The property is typical of the international exhibition movement which saw over 50 exhibitions staged between 1851 and 1915 in venues including Paris, New York, Vienna, Calcutta, Kingston (Jamaica) and Santiago (Chile).
All shared a common theme and aims: to chart material and moral progress through displays of industry from all nations.
Conservation work has recently been undertaken on the building’s dome and structure, the external joinery and stonework, and timber floors.
Recent restoration works have included the reinstatement of missing ornamentation around the parapet line.
All information copied in above, except my own narrative has been copied from this website and if you would like to know more about this grand building so beautifully nestled in amongst such a delicious array of gardens, fountains, lakes with some waterbirds and wildlife, then please click on this link to see more https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1131/
And this short video by TV presenter and comedian Chris Taylor is a must watch!
https://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/1598/
And if you would to see some of the other incredibly beautiful buildings that Joseph Reed designed in Melbourne, then check out this website for more info https://www.whitehat.com.au/melbourne/people/reed.aspx
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Well, thank you all for reading and if you I hope that you enjoyed this tour through some of Melbourne's most grandest architectural history.
And unless otherwise stated- ALL photographs, are all my originals taken by me sometime in the past decade or so somewhere in my travels and as such, ofcourse they are subject to all international IP and copyright laws and I may have already used them for my own commercial purposes here https://www.redbubble.com/people/CHOCOLATESCORPI/shop And here https://fineartamerica.com/art/chocolatescorpi, So please ask first if you want to use any of them as we wouldn't want you getting into trouble. Thank you 😊
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