Argus Building facts for kids

The Argus Building, designed by Godfrey & Spowers, opened in 1926 on La Trobe Street as the newspaper's headquarters.

The Argus Building is a famous old building in Melbourne, Australia. You can find it at the corner of La Trobe and Elizabeth Street. For 30 years, from 1926 to 1956, it was home to The Argus newspaper. This building is so important that it's protected by the National Trust. It's also listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. In 2012, it was even named one of Australia's top ten heritage buildings at risk.

History of the Argus Building

Early Days of the Site

Maps from 1855 show that a church called St John's and its school were once located here. Later documents from 1880 and 1905 show a bigger church. There were also several two-storey shops along Elizabeth Street.

Newspaper Headquarters

The people who published The Argus newspaper bought this land. They also published The Australasian. Their plan was to build a large, six-storey building. This new building would hold many workers. It would also house the huge machines needed to print newspapers. These machines used a method called letterpress printing. A special newspaper section, "Entering the New Home," explained this on September 9, 1926.

The last newspaper printed in this building was The Argus. It came out on Saturday, January 19, 1957. The company announced that other parts of their business would continue. These included The Australasian Post and Your Garden magazine. They also continued their radio and commercial printing work.

Later Uses and Changes

In 1991, a new office building was built right next door. It was designed by Nonda Katsalidis and won awards. This new building was named the Argus Centre.

In 2004, La Trobe University bought the Argus Building. They planned to update it. Their idea was to put their law and business schools inside. They also wanted to add shops on the ground floor.

However, fixing up the old building became very expensive. So, La Trobe University sold it in 2010 for $15 million. The new owner was Shesh Ghale. He owns the Melbourne Institute of Technology. He also plans to turn the building into a place for education.