67 Spencer Street facts for kids
67 Spencer Street used to be the main office for the Victorian Railways in Melbourne, Australia. You can find it on Spencer Street. Today, this amazing building is a hotel and apartments! It's built in a style called Renaissance Revival. This means it looks like buildings from the Renaissance period in Europe. It's one of Melbourne's most important buildings from the Victorian era. It's even listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, which protects special places.
Contents
Building History: A Grand Beginning
This building opened in 1893. At that time, it was the biggest office building in Melbourne! This showed how large and important the Victorian Railways were. It also reflected the "boom" time of the 1880s, when Melbourne was growing fast.
Why a New Building Was Needed
In 1886, the people in charge of the Victorian Railways decided their old wooden offices were not good enough. They wanted a new building. This new place would bring all their different offices in the city together.
Designing and Building the Offices
James Moore, an engineer, created the designs. Building started in September 1888. At first, they planned to use a dark stone called bluestone. But this was too expensive. So, they used bricks instead, covered with a smooth plaster called stucco. This made the building look grand without the high cost of stone.
Inside the Building: Big and Beautiful
The building is shaped like a shallow "U". It stretches about 420 feet (128 meters) along Spencer Street. The main entrance is in the middle, with heavy stone-like details. This led into a huge main staircase. It was about 50 feet by 60 feet (15.25 m by 18.28 m)! Three large windows with the "VR" (Victorian Railways) symbol lit up the staircase. There were also smaller entrances at each end. A long hallway ran through the whole building.
How the Building Grew Over Time
- Original Floors: The building first had a basement and three floors.
- 1912 Addition: A fourth floor was added in 1912. This changed how the building looked from the outside. Before, it had large triangle shapes and statues on top. After 1912, it had two unique domes and an arched window in the center.
- 1922 Addition: Another floor, called an attic floor, was added in 1922.
- Missing Statues: Some statues were on top of the building. But they were removed in 1930. They were breaking apart and could have been dangerous!
- Getting Crowded: By 1925, the building was very full. Some railway departments had to move to the Newport Workshops.
New Owners: From Offices to Hotel
By the 1980s, the Victorian Railways had split into different groups. The building at 67 Spencer Street became empty in 1985.
Selling the Historic Building
The Victorian Government decided to sell the building in 1988. A company and a Japanese investor wanted to buy it for $5.2 million. They planned to turn it into a hotel with 217 rooms and a car park. But the deal didn't happen.
In 1989, Melbourne's Greek community offered to buy the building for $7.9 million. This deal also didn't work out. The building was put up for auction in 1990, but it didn't sell.
A New Life as Apartments and a Hotel
Finally, in March 1993, the building was sold for A$2.5 million. The plan was to turn it into apartments. The big project finished in October 1997. The building became 240 apartments. Half of these apartments became part of the All Seasons Grand Hotel. The building was carefully restored. A swimming pool and a multi-level car park were also built at the back.
