Melbourne Town Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Melbourne Town Hall |
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The Melbourne Town Hall in October 2023.
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Town hall |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| Location | 90-130 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°48′55″S 144°58′00″E / 37.815145°S 144.966777°E |
| Construction started | 1867 |
| Completed | 1887 |
| Owner | Council of the City of Melbourne |
| Official name | Melbourne Town Hall and Administration Building |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 9 October 1974 |
| Reference no. | H0001 |
| HO746 | |
The Melbourne Town Hall is a very important building in the center of Melbourne, Australia. It is the main office for the city's government, including the Lord Mayor and the city councillors. Think of it as the city's headquarters, where big decisions are made.
Located on the corner of Swanston and Collins streets, this historic building was finished in 1887. It's not just for politics, though. The Town Hall is a popular spot for fun events like concerts, festivals, plays, and art exhibitions.
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History of the Town Hall
Melbourne became a town in 1842, but its first town hall wasn't finished until 1854. Work on it started in 1851 but had to stop because of the Victorian gold rush, when many people left to search for gold.
Soon, the city needed a bigger and better town hall. The first one was torn down, and on November 29, 1867, Prince Alfred laid the first stone for the new building we see today. The new Town Hall officially opened on August 11, 1870, with a huge party.
Over the years, more parts were added to the building. In 1908, a new section for offices was built.
Famous Events and People
The Town Hall has hosted many exciting events. In 1900, one of Australia's first movies, Soldiers of the Cross, was shown there to an audience of 4,000 people.
In 1964, the world-famous band The Beatles visited the Town Hall. A crowd of 20,000 excited teenagers gathered outside, screaming and cheering just to get a look at them.
The Hall Keeper's Story
For 30 years, a man named James "Jimmy" Dewar was the hall keeper. He was a friendly man from Scotland who started working there in 1913. He and his family even lived in an apartment at the top of the building!
Jimmy met many famous people, from generals to princes. He was known as a "friend, guide, and philosopher" to many of Melbourne's Lord Mayors. Once, when the famous opera singer Dame Nellie Melba wanted to perform an extra song, her piano had already been packed away. Jimmy kindly lent her his own piano from his apartment so the show could go on.
The Great Fire of 1925
On February 1, 1925, a disaster happened. A fire broke out and destroyed a large part of the Town Hall, including the main hall and the giant pipe organ.
The building was rebuilt and made even larger. However, some of the original fancy designs, like its special roof, were lost in the fire and not replaced.
Architecture and Design
The Town Hall was designed by a famous local architect named Joseph Reed. He also designed other well-known Melbourne buildings like the State Library of Victoria and the Royal Exhibition Building. The style of the building is called Second Empire, which was a grand and popular style in the 1800s.
Prince Alfred's Tower
The building has a large clock tower named after Prince Alfred. The clock is huge, with a face that is almost 2.5 meters wide. Its longest hand is over a meter long and weighs nearly 9 kilograms. The clock was a gift to the city and started ticking on August 31, 1874.
Art Inside the Hall
After the 1925 fire, the main hall was redecorated. An artist named Napier Waller was hired to paint huge murals on the walls. A mural is a painting done directly on a wall.
Waller's murals are very large, with some sections being 7 meters high. He painted figures and lines to create a sense of rhythm. The paintings were done on special tiles that helped make the room's sound better for concerts.
The Grand Concert Organ
Inside the main hall is a magnificent concert organ. It is one of the largest pipe organs in the world, with 9,568 pipes! The organ is so big that it can be played from two different keyboards, called consoles. One is attached to the organ, and the other can be moved onto the stage for concerts.
This amazing instrument is perfect for playing powerful and romantic music, but it can play almost any kind of music because it has so many different sounds.
History of the Organ
The first organ was built in England and installed in 1872. Sadly, it was destroyed in the 1925 fire. A new, even better organ was built in 1929.
Between 1995 and 2001, the organ was completely rebuilt and made bigger by an American company. This huge project cost $4.5 million and added many new pipes and sounds, making it the incredible instrument it is today.
See also
- List of Town Halls in Melbourne
- List of Mayors and Lord Mayors of Melbourne
- Architecture of Melbourne
- List of heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne
- Victorian architecture
