Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Young & Jackson's
HISTORIC BUILDING
(
www.youngandjacksons.com.au
;
cnr Flinders & Swanston Sts; Tourist Shuttle, City Circle, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 16,
64, 67, 72, Flinders St)
Across the street from Flinders Street Station is a pub (
Click here
)
known less for its beer (served up since 1861) than its iconic nude painting of the teen-
aged
Chloe,
painted by Jules Joseph Lefebvre. Chloe's yearning gaze, cast over her
shoulder and out of the frame, was a hit at the Paris Salon of 1875.
The painting caused an outcry in parochial, provincial Melbourne, however, and was re-
moved from display at the National Gallery of Victoria. Eventually purchased by publican
and 'art lover' Henry Figsby Young in 1909,
Chloe
found an appreciative audience and
permanent home at this pub.
Melbourne Town Hall
( 03-9658 9658;
www.melbourne.vic.gov.au
;
cnr Collins & Swanston Sts; tour 11am & 1pm Mon-Fri)
The
Melbourne Town Hall has been used as a civic and entertainment venue since 1870.
Queen Elizabeth II took tea here in 1954, and the Beatles waved to thousands of scream-
ing fans from the balcony in 1964. Take the free one-hour
tour
to see the Grand Organ
(built in 1929, and the largest grand romantic organ in the southern hemisphere), sit in the
Lord Mayor's chair or tinker on the same piano Paul McCartney did. It's a busy venue
during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (
Click here
)
.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Collins Street
(btwn Spring & Elizabeth Sts)
The top end of Collins St, aka the 'Paris End', is lined with plane
trees, grand buildings and luxe boutiques (hence its moniker). You'll find ornate arcades
leading off from Collins St. The Block network, comprising Block Pl, Block Arcade and
Block Ct, was named after the 19th-century pastime of 'doing the block', which referred
to walking the city's fashionable area.
STREET
Old Treasury Building
MUSEUM
(
03-9651 2233;
www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au
; Spring St;
10am-4pm, closed Sat;
112,
Parliament)
The fine neoclassical architecture of the Old Treasury (c 1862), designed by JJ
Clarke, is a telling mix of hubris and functionality. The basement vaults were built to
