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The second largest triumphal arch in existence, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris and around the world. On the night of May 9th, 2006, the Arch was lit in blue to celebrate Europe. ------- (PAR_DSCN7244 - Image copyrighted).
The earliest National Bank of Australia in Colac established its premises in the town's main thoroughfare at 28 Murray Street in a two storey brick building erected in 1865 to a design by the architect, Leonard Terry. In 1886 the Leonard Terry bank was demolished to make way for the present two storey stucco and brick building which was completed in August 1887.
Designed by self-trained local Colac architect Alexander Hamilton (1825 - 1901), the current National Bank of Australia building is a good example of transitional boom Classicism architecture. Builders Taylor and Ellis of Ballarat erected the bank at a cost of £3,500.00. The building, which stands detached and complete like the nearby Colac Shire Hall has an iron palisade fence. The design, with rusticated ground floor facade, Corinthian porch, unusual enframed windows and pronounced parapet entablature, is illustrative of trends in bank architecture in the mid 1880s in Victoria and is one of Mr. Hamilton's most significant and scholarly works.
The bank has seen many uses over the years, and was at one stage in its life a gentleman's club for wealthy local landowners to socialise in. Today the National Bank of Australia has moved to more modern premises in Colac, but the building houses professional suites as befits a building which such a fine architectural pedigree.
Alexander Hamilton was born in Moffat, Scotland, but migrated to Australia in 1852. Originally based in Melbourne, he went to the Western District town of Mortlake before moving in 1871 to Colac where he was amongst other professions a millwright, builder and an architect. Alexander Hamilton really concentrated on his profession as an architect when he arrived in Colac and made his name in the area as a number of older homesteads and buildings in the district were built under his instruction and supervision. These include "Illewarra House" which was built for for John Calvert in 1873, "Tarndwarncoort" for Alexander Dennis in 1877 and "Talindert" for James Manifold in 1890. Mr. Hamilton also designed the Presbyterian manse in Colac in 1883 and the Bank of Australasia in Beeac in 1888.
Located approximately 150 kilometres to the south-west of Melbourne, past Geelong is the small Western District city of Colac. The area was originally settled by Europeans in 1837 by pastoralist Hugh Murray. A small community sprung up on the southern shore of a large lake amid the volcanic plains. The community was proclaimed a town, Lake Colac, in 1848, named after the lake upon which it perches. The post office opened in 1848 as Lake Colac and was renamed Colac in 1854 when the city changed its name. The township grew over the years, its wealth generated by the booming grazing industries of the large estates of the Western District and the dairy industry that accompanied it. Colac has a long high street shopping precinct, several churches, botanic gardens, a Masonic hall and a smattering of large properties within its boundaries, showing the conspicuous wealth of the city. Today Colac is still a commercial centre for the agricultural district that surrounds it with a population of around 10,000 people. Although not strictly a tourist town, Colac has many beautiful surviving historical buildings or interest, tree lined streets. Colac is known as “the Gateway to the Otways” (a reference to the Otway Ranges and surrounding forest area that is located just to the south of the town).
On the pediment of the NY Stock Exchange which was built in 1903, using classical architecture, is a sculpture by John Quincy Adams Ward and Paul Bartlett, called "Integrity Protecting the Works of Man". The center figure represents integrity. To the left there are various figures representing the mechanical arts, electricity, surveyors, and builders. To the right there are other figures, symbolizing mining and agriculture.
(Crop of original frame). View from southwest including the Caryatids. The originals (except for the one taken by Lord Elgin) are in a fantastic new spot in the new Acropolis Museum - a must see!
ancient-greece.org/architecture/erechtheion.html
The Ballarat Synagogue at 2 Barkly Street in East Ballarat, is one of the few surviving Nineteenth Century synagogues in Victoria. Designed by architect T. B. Cameron, the Synagogue was built in 1861. Situated on the Victorian goldfields, its importance was such that its first Rabbi was Av (head) of the first recognised Australian Beth Din. The gold rush brought many Jewish people to Ballarat and the first congregation was held in 1853 and for decades the local community was the largest in the Victorian colony.
The single storey building is one of the early surviving buildings in Ballarat and is important in the streetscape and townscape of the city and in the history of the area. Architecturally the structure is an interesting example of conservative Classical design, given distinction by the architectural treatment of its facade and portico. The main facade of the brick structure was corner Tuscan pilasters supporting a parapet entablature. Paired Tuscan squared columns and pilasters support the pedimented prostyle portico and the windows are roundheaded.
The interior of the building, with features such as the ladies gallery, is in very good condition. The interior seen today is the result of extensive remodeling in 1878 including notable internal use of Victorian iron lacework panels on the balconies of the gallery and magnificent ceiling fretworks from which hang impressive crystal chandeliers. Beautiful windows with blue and red stained glass panels fill the Synagogue with light. Presiding above all is a very grand arched stained glass window created in 1884, which according to legend, is made from glass taken from a 16th Century Irish mansion.
One of my most favourite places to visit in all of Ireland.
Lismore Castle has been the Irish home of the Dukes of Devonshire since 1753 and is possibly the most spectacular castle in Ireland. Situated in a panoramic position overlooking the Blackwater Valley it has views over rolling, wooded hills to the Knockmealdown Mountains beyond. Whilst being totally private, the Castle is on the outskirts of the Heritage Town of Lismore and a mere 200 yard walk to all its amenities.
Lismore Castle is located in the town of Lismore, in County Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. It was largely re-built in the Gothic style during the mid-nineteenth century by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire.
The castle site was originally occupied by Lismore Abbey, an important monastery and seat of learning established in the early 7th century. It was still an ecclesiastical centre when Henry II, King of England stayed here in 1171, and except for a brief period after 1185 when his son King John of England built a 'castellum' here, it served as the episcopal residence of the local bishop. In 1589 Lismore, was leased and later acquired by Sir Walter Raleigh, who sold the property during his imprisonment for High Treason in 1602 to another famous adventurer, Richard Boyle, later 1st Earl of Cork.
Muckross House (Irish: Theach Mhucrois) is located on the small Muckross Peninsula between Muckross Lake and Lough Leane, two of the Lakes of Killarney, 6 kilometers (4 mi) from the town of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland.
Muckross House is a mansion designed by the Scottish architect, William Burn, that was built in 1843 for Henry Arthur Herbert and his wife, the watercolourist Mary Balfour Herbert. With sixty-five rooms, it was built in the Tudor style. Extensive improvements were undertaken in the 1850s in preparation for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1861. It is said that these improvements for the Queen's visit were a contributory factor in the financial difficulties suffered by the Herbert family which consequenced in the sale of the estate.
Killarney National Park was formed principally from a donation of Muckross Estate, which was presented to the state in 1932 by Senator Arthur Rose Vincent and his parents-in-law Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn II, in memory of Senator Vincent's late wife, Maud. The park was substantially expanded by acquisition of land from the former Earl of Kenmare's estate.
The house, gardens and traditional farms are all open to the public with guided tours of the house's rooms.
In it's day (2nd century AD), the Temple of Olympian Zeus was the largest temple in Greece, bigger than the Parthenon. It took 650 years to complete, not least because this overblown style fell out of fashion for a few hundred years.
You'd think then they'd at least reconstruct this column, afterall, there's even a whole one right next to it they could copy and another 14 just out of picture. At over 2m diameter, it does also make you wonder where the other 88 columns disappeared too doesn't it ?
A photo and discussion by flickr friend Ed here got me thinking and looking up a book on the classical orders to see what the difference if any exists at the base of hte different orders of columns...I then had to draw the result of my research...but not in an accurate way - after all I never manage to do neat work in my sketchbook do I?
BTW, I love architectural distractions....
This beautiful bridge, called the Rialto Bridge marks the geographical center of the city.
The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto) is a bridge spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal and probably the most famous in the city.
The first dry crossing of the Grand Canal was a pontoon bridge built in 1181 by Nicolò Barattieri. It was called the Ponte della Moneta, presumably because of the mint that stood near its eastern entrance.
The development and importance of the Rialto market on the eastern bank increased traffic on the floating bridge. So it was replaced around 1250 by a wooden bridge. This structure had two inclined ramps meeting at a movable central section, that could be raised to allow the passage of tall ships. The connection with the market eventually led to a change of name for the bridge. During the first half of the 15th century two rows of shops were built along the sides of the bridge. The rents brought an income to the State Treasury, which helped maintain the bridge.
Maintenance was vital for the timber bridge. It was partly burnt in the revolt led by Bajamonte Tiepolo in 1310. In 1444 it collapsed under the weight of a crowd watching a boat parade and it collapsed again in 1524.
The idea of rebuilding the bridge in stone was first proposed in 1503. Several projects were considered over the following decades. In 1551 the authorities requested proposals for the renewal of the Rialto Bridge, among other things. Plans were offered by famous architects such as Jacopo Sansovino, Palladio and Vignola, but all involved a Classical approach with several arches, which was judged inappropriate to the situation.Even the great Michelangelo was considered as designer of the bridge.
The present stone bridge, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was finally completed in 1591. It is remarkably similar to the wooden bridge it succeeded. Two inclined ramps lead up to a central portico. On either side of the portico the covered ramps carry rows of shops. The engineering of the bridge was considered so audacious that architect Vincenzo Scamozzi predicted future ruin. The bridge has defied its critics to become one of the architectural icons of Venice.
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Standing in the middle of Memorial Square in the heart of Colac, facing Murray Street is the Colac War Memorial.
Built rather like a classical temple of Roman or Grecian origin, the war memorial is built of sandstone and was erected as a tribute to those who both fought and died in the Great War (1914 - 1918), but it has been supplemented with plaques to other conflicts that occurred in later times. The shrine is engraved "1914 The Shire's Tribute 1918" and features places where conflict took place during the Great War; Egypt, Gallipoli, Palestine, Flanders, Pozieres, Polygon Wood, Bullecourt, Paschendale, Viller Brettoneux and Mont St Quinton. The Colac War Memorial was unveiled by Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Chauvel (1865 - 1945) on the 15th November, 1924. The cost of the memorial was ₤3600.00 and it was built by the monument manufacturers Sale and Keape. There are the names of 1665 men who had enlisted during the war. Those who died as a result of the conflict have their names picked out in gold lettering. A pine tree taken as a cutting from the original Lone Pine tree in Galippoli has been planted at the rear of the shrine on a lush piece of lawn.
Located approximately 150 kilometres to the south-west of Melbourne, past Geelong is the small Western District city of Colac. The area was originally settled by Europeans in 1837 by pastoralist Hugh Murray. A small community sprung up on the southern shore of a large lake amid the volcanic plains. The community was proclaimed a town, Lake Colac, in 1848, named after the lake upon which it perches. The post office opened in 1848 as Lake Colac and was renamed Colac in 1854 when the city changed its name. The township grew over the years, its wealth generated by the booming grazing industries of the large estates of the Western District and the dairy industry that accompanied it. Colac has a long high street shopping precinct, several churches, botanic gardens, a Masonic hall and a smattering of large properties within its boundaries, showing the conspicuous wealth of the city. Today Colac is still a commercial centre for the agricultural district that surrounds it with a population of around 10,000 people. Although not strictly a tourist town, Colac has many beautiful surviving historical buildings or interest, tree lined streets. Colac is known as “the Gateway to the Otways” (a reference to the Otway Ranges and surrounding forest area that is located just to the south of the town).
Now to Piazza Jacopo della Quercia and a look at the unfinished part of Siena Cathedral. Now just used as a car park! But the walls have survived since the 14th century!
unfinished walls of Siena Cathedral
Siena Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
Previously the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, from the 15th century the Archdiocese of Siena, it is now that of the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino.
The cathedral itself was originally designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with addition of red marble on the façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, etiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius.
The façade of Siena Cathedral is one of the most fascinating in all of Italy and certainly one of the most impressive features in Siena. Each of the cardinal points (west, east, north, and south) has their own distinct work; by far the most impressive of these is the west façade. Acting as the main entryway to the Duomo proper, it boasts three portals (see Portal (architecture)); the central one is capped by a bronze-work sun.
Built in two stages and combining elements of French Gothic, Tuscan Romanesque architecture, and Classical architecture, the west façade is a beautiful example of Sienanise workmanship. Work began on the lower part around 1284. Built using polychrome marble, the work was overseen by Giovanni Pisano whose work on the Duomo’s façade and pulpit was influenced by his father Nicola Pisano.
The lower portion of the façade is designed from Giovanni's original plans. Built in Tuscan Romanesque style it emphasizes a horizontal unity of the area around the portals at the expense of the vertical bay divisions. The three portals, surmounted by lunettes, are based on Giovanni Pisano’s original designs, as are much of the sculpture and orientation surrounding the entrances. The areas around and above the doors, as well as the columns between the portals, are richly decorated with acanthus scrolls, allegorical figures and biblical scenes.
Giovanni Pisano was able to oversee his work until about 1296 when he abruptly left Siena, reportedly over creative differences with the Opera del Duomo, the group that oversaw the construction and maintenance of the Siena cathedrals. Pisano's work on the lower façade was continued under the direction of Camaino di Crescentino, but a number of changes were made to the original plan. These included raising the façade due to the raising of the nave of the church and the instillation of a larger rose window based on designs by Duccio di Buoninsegna and commissioned by the city of Siena. Work on the west façade came to an abrupt end in 1317 when the Opera del Duomo redirected all efforts to the east façade.
Upper façade
There is debate as to when work on the upper façade was completed. Most scholars agree that it was finished sometime between 1360 and 1370, though when it began again is not known. The work continued to use Pisano's plans for the façade with some adaptations under the direction of Giovanni di Cecco. Di Cecco preferred more elaborate designs, most likely inspired by the Orvieto Cathedral. The façade needed to be much higher than foreseen as the nave had, once again, been raised.
The changes were probably needed to accommodate the raised nave and di Cecco's more elaborate design scheme, heavily influenced by French Gothic architecture, caused the apparent division of the upper portion of the cathedral. Most noticeably the pinnacles of the upper portion do not continue from the columns flanking the central portal as they normally would in such cathedrals. Instead they are substantially offset, resulting in a vertical discontinuity which is uncommon cathedrals of the time as it can lead to structural weakness. To adjust for this imbalance, the towers on each side of the cathedral were opened by adding windows, reducing the weight they needed to support. The upper portion also features heavy Gothic decoration, a marked contrast to the simple geometric designed common to Tuscan Romanesque architecture.
Façade sculpture
While most of the sculpture decorating the lower level of the lavish façade was sculpted by Giovanni Pisano and assistant depicting prophets, philosophers and apostles, the more Gothic statuary adorning the upper portion—including the half-length statues of the patriarchs in the niches around the rose window—are works of later, unattributed, sculptors. Almost all the statuary adorning the cathedral today are copies. The originals are kept in the Crypt of the Statues in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.
Three large mosaics on the gables of the façade were made in Venice in 1878. The large central mosaic, the Coronation of the Virgin, is the work of Luigi Mussini. The smaller mosaics on each side, Nativity of Jesus and Presentation of Mary in the Temple, were made by Alessandro Franchi.
The bronze central door is a recent addition to the cathedral, replacing the original wooden one. The large door, known as the Porta della Riconoscenza, was commissioned in 1946 near the end of the German occupation of Siena. Sculpted by Vico Consorti and cast by Enrico Manfrini, the scenes on the door represent the Glorification of the Virgin, Siena’s patron saint.
On the left corner pier of the façade is a 14th-century inscription marking the grave of Giovanni Pisano. Next to the façade stands a column with a statue of the Contrade Lupa, a wolf breast-feeding Romulus and Remus. According to local legend Senius and Aschius, sons of Remus and founders of Siena, left Rome with the statue, stolen from the Temple of Apollo in Rome.
On the right of the Cathedral, the large space where the great fourteenth-century cathedral should have stood, is today the so-called "New Cathedral", in front of a space in which the first aisle (now home to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo ) is built. the so-called facetone. This area is called today Piazza Jacopo della Quercia.
Via Palazzo Reale overlooks the work of Bernardo Buontalenti of the late sixteenth century, born to house the Medici governor of the city. Today it houses the Prefecture and the Provincial Administration.
Road sign
The end of the Siq is a dramatic moment, planned that way by the ancient Nabateans to impress their visitors. The gorge narrows and the soft curves of the Siq frame a sunlit strip of extraordinary classical architecture, Al-Khazneh......the Treasury.
The face of Al-Khazneh gleams as the sun slides across its chiseled facade illuminating the majestic columns. Archaeologists believe that the Treasury was probably built as a tomb for the Nabataean King Aretas III in 1 BCE and that the figures on its exterior represent Alexandria and the goddess Isis. Aretas III was king from 87 to 62 BCE and during his reign extended the Nabataean kingdom to cover what now forms the northern area of Jordan, the south of Syria and part of Saudi Arabia. Under his leadership Nabataea reached its greatest territorial extend.
Notre Dame de Paris ('Our Lady of Paris' in French) is a Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France.
Notre Dame de Paris ('Our Lady of Paris' in French) is a Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in Paris, France, with its main entrance to the west. It is the cathedral of Paris and the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. It was restored and saved from destruction by Viollet-le-Duc, one of France's most famous architects. The name Notre Dame means "Our Lady" in French. Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic cathedrals, and its construction spanned the Gothic period. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, unlike that of earlier Romanesque architecture.
Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress [arched exterior supports]. The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedral's architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued as such.
The cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. During the 19th century, an extensive restoration project was completed, returning the cathedral to its previous state.
History of the Western Façade - www.notredamedeparis.fr/The-west-facade
Antoni Gaudi, Spanish master architect, set the precedent in the realm of the sublime. Some buildings in Balboa Park exhibit a similar style. The styles are technically called Spanish Colonial Revival and Spanish Renaissance architecture, but lets take a closer look.
Balboa Park was initially called City Park and was established in 1868 as one of the largest urban green spaces in the world. The park hosted two World Fairs, the first being the Panama-California Exposition of 1915, which left us with many of the buildings that exist today. The Panama-California Exposition was proposed to celebrate of the opening of the Panama Canal. Originally the Olmstead Brothers were hired to handle the landscaping and planning portion, but this ultimately did not come to pass. The Olmstead Brothers were the sons of Frederick Law Olmstead, co-designer of Central park in Manhattan. They were all great designers, but typically designed with an urban refuge in mind and San Diego does not need an urban refuge, clearly the beach will do.
The Korumburra State Bank of Victoria branch used to be located on Radovick Street, one of Korumburra's main commercial streets. Built in 1902 in Federation Free Classical style, the branch building represented the strength and stability the bank wished to portray.
The State Bank of Victoria branch has a very stylish facade with typical indicators of Federation Free Classical architecture including a symmetrical facade, a pedimented parapet to conceal the roof, a simple entablature, and classical pilasters. All of this combines to provide a very classically designed and proportioned building which catches the eye, even from a distance.
The State Savings bank of Victoria was a bank that existed from 1842 until 1990 when it was taken over by the Commonwealth Bank. It was owned by the State of Victoria. A government-controlled savings bank had been founded on 1 January 1842 as the Savings Bank of Port Philip. The independent Savings Banks merged over time and this development was recognized by legislation in 1912, whereupon the bank was established as the State Savings Bank of Victoria. In 1980 its name was changed to the State Bank until its sale and subsequent dissolution in 1990. The bank collapsed due to the weight of the bad loans made in the 1980s, in particular by its merchant banking arm Tricontinental, after deregulation of the banking industry in the mid-1980s by the government.
Korumburra is a medium-sized dairy and farming town in country Victoria, located on the South Gippsland Highway, 120 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. Surrounded by rolling green hills, the town has a population of a little over 4,000 people. Korumburra has built itself on coal mining (after the discovery of a coal seam in 1870), local forestry and dairy farming. Whilst the coal seam has been used up, farming in the area still thrives and a great deal of dairy produce is created from the area. The post office in the area opened on the 1st of September in 1884, and moved to the township on the railway survey line on the 1st of November 1889, the existing office being renamed Glentress. The steam railway connecting it with Melbourne arrived in 1891. Whilst the train line has long since operating commercially, it has found a new life as the popular tourist railway the South Gippsland Railway which operates a heritage railway service between the major country centre of Leongatha and the small market town of Nyora.
The Louvre (French: Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is the most visited and one of the oldest, largest, and most famous art galleries and museums in the world.
The Louvre has a long history of artistic and historic conservation, inaugurated in the Capetian dynasty and continuing to this day. The building was previously a royal palace and holds some of the world's most famous works of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, Madonna of the Rocks, Jacques Louis David's Oath of the Horatii, Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People and Alexandros of Antioch's Venus de Milo. Located in the centre of the city of Paris, between the Rive Droite of the Seine and the rue de Rivoli in the Ier arrondissement, it is accessed by the Palais Royal — Musée du Louvre Metro station. The equestrian statue of Louis XIV constitutes the starting point of the "axe historique", but the palace is not aligned on this axis.
With 8.3 million visitors in 2006,[1] the Louvre is the most visited art museum in the world.
Senior Combination Room.
Architects; Howell Killick Partridge & Amis, 1966-70.
It was a brave move to appoint these young architects at this stronghold of neo-classicism but my gut feeling is that they got it because the project was small and in the remotest part of the site. The modern reinterpretation of neoclassical elements is utter delight to people like me who admittedly are not literate in the classical language.
Siemes-Werksanlage „Wernerwerk II“ (oder Wernerwerk M), Berlin-Siemensstadt, Wernerwerkdamm, 1. Bauabschnitt 1914–1917, Karl Janisch, Turm 1916–1918, Hans Hertlein, 2. Bauabschnitt 1917–1922, Hans Hertlein
This building in Camp Street in the centre of Ballarat was Ballarat's first Freemason's Hall, and originally featured an elaborate porch. To this day its original purpose can still be identified by the weather-faded masonic symbol in the apex of the hall's gable, and in similar symbols that appear discreetly in the design of the original ornate fence which surrounds the hall.
Erected between 1872 and 1874, the Freemason's Hall has been constructed in Greek Revival style and looks like a Grecian temple. Its restrained textured cement rendering has sadly weathered over time, obscuring some of the building's finer detailing. The imposing building features huge columns on either side of the entrance and an original ornate fence which encircles the building.
The former Freemason's Hall has housed various organisations throughout the years. It was purchased by the State Electricity Commission in the 1920s and became the social club premises for employees. During this period it was renamed "Electra Hall". In more recent times, the building was used as an antiques and gift store.
Today it is part of Ballarat's vibrant art scene and is used as an art space for exhibitions of modern art.
The Ballarat Synagogue at 2 Barkly Street in East Ballarat, is one of the few surviving Nineteenth Century synagogues in Victoria. Designed by architect T. B. Cameron, the Synagogue was built in 1861. Situated on the Victorian goldfields, its importance was such that its first Rabbi was Av (head) of the first recognised Australian Beth Din. The gold rush brought many Jewish people to Ballarat and the first congregation was held in 1853 and for decades the local community was the largest in the Victorian colony.
The single storey building is one of the early surviving buildings in Ballarat and is important in the streetscape and townscape of the city and in the history of the area. Architecturally the structure is an interesting example of conservative Classical design, given distinction by the architectural treatment of its facade and portico. The main facade of the brick structure was corner Tuscan pilasters supporting a parapet entablature. Paired Tuscan squared columns and pilasters support the pedimented prostyle portico and the windows are roundheaded.
The interior of the building, with features such as the ladies gallery, is in very good condition. The interior seen today is the result of extensive remodeling in 1878 including notable internal use of Victorian iron lacework panels on the balconies of the gallery and magnificent ceiling fretworks from which hang impressive crystal chandeliers. Beautiful windows with blue and red stained glass panels fill the Synagogue with light. Presiding above all is a very grand arched stained glass window created in 1884, which according to legend, is made from glass taken from a 16th Century Irish mansion.
Kylemore Abbey (Irish: Mainistir na Coille Móire) is a Benedictine nunnery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Republic of Ireland. The abbey was founded when Benedictine Nuns fled Belgium in World War I.
Originally called Kylemore Castle, it was built between 1863 and 1868 as a private home for the family of Mitchell Henry, a wealthy politician from Manchester, England. After the death of his wife Margaret in 1875, Mitchell did not spend much time there. He and his wife are both buried in the small mausoleum near the church in the grounds of the abbey. Notable features of the abbey are the neo-Gothic church (built between 1877 and 1881), a miniature replica of Norwich Cathedral, made from local green Connemara marble, and the Victorian walled garden.
The abbey houses a secondary girls' boarding school, Kylemore Abbey International Girls' School. The house and gardens are open to the public.
During our visit this year we were told that the school is closing in 2010. At present there are only two classes of students left in the school.
Sometimes you forget how elegant the GPO is. Melbourne's GPO is a shopping arcade situated inside the former 19th century Melbourne General Post Office (GPO) building located on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke Street in the centre of Melbourne's Central Business District. It is currently listed on Australia's Victorian Heritage Register. The former purpose-built post office building was redeveloped for retail by adaptive reuse in 2004.
The architectural style of the building is Classical with French Second Empire influences and was designed in the by architect A.E. Johnson. Its historical significance is also due to incorporating distinct sections built over a period of 48 years between 1859 and 1907, and multilayered architecture, as a result of the four floors being constructed at different times. A distinctive architectural element is the clock tower which dominates the intersection of the two streets. Its location is still used as a point of reference for the measure of distances from the centre of Melbourne.
After much searching found that this statue dates to around 1730 and probably comes from the workshop of Andries Carpentier a Flemish artist working in London. Euricles' right foot is on a rock with a tortoise climbing up it. The statue is also known as Endymion as in the later poem by Keats. I've not figured out the ambiguity! Behind is the Temple of Piety probably by Roger Morris an assistant of the architect Colen Campbell.
Standing in the middle of Memorial Square in the heart of Colac, facing Murray Street is the Colac War Memorial.
Built rather like a classical temple of Roman or Grecian origin, the war memorial is built of sandstone and was erected as a tribute to those who both fought and died in the Great War (1914 - 1918), but it has been supplemented with plaques to other conflicts that occurred in later times. The shrine is engraved "1914 The Shire's Tribute 1918" and features places where conflict took place during the Great War; Egypt, Gallipoli, Palestine, Flanders, Pozieres, Polygon Wood, Bullecourt, Paschendale, Viller Brettoneux and Mont St Quinton. The Colac War Memorial was unveiled by Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Chauvel (1865 - 1945) on the 15th November, 1924. The cost of the memorial was ₤3600.00 and it was built by the monument manufacturers Sale and Keape. There are the names of 1665 men who had enlisted during the war. Those who died as a result of the conflict have their names picked out in gold lettering. A pine tree taken as a cutting from the original Lone Pine tree in Galippoli has been planted at the rear of the shrine on a lush piece of lawn.
Located approximately 150 kilometres to the south-west of Melbourne, past Geelong is the small Western District city of Colac. The area was originally settled by Europeans in 1837 by pastoralist Hugh Murray. A small community sprung up on the southern shore of a large lake amid the volcanic plains. The community was proclaimed a town, Lake Colac, in 1848, named after the lake upon which it perches. The post office opened in 1848 as Lake Colac and was renamed Colac in 1854 when the city changed its name. The township grew over the years, its wealth generated by the booming grazing industries of the large estates of the Western District and the dairy industry that accompanied it. Colac has a long high street shopping precinct, several churches, botanic gardens, a Masonic hall and a smattering of large properties within its boundaries, showing the conspicuous wealth of the city. Today Colac is still a commercial centre for the agricultural district that surrounds it with a population of around 10,000 people. Although not strictly a tourist town, Colac has many beautiful surviving historical buildings or interest, tree lined streets. Colac is known as “the Gateway to the Otways” (a reference to the Otway Ranges and surrounding forest area that is located just to the south of the town).