City of Holdfast Bay Civic Centre, Brighton

This is the Municipal Offices and Council Chamber for the City of Holdfast Bay in Jetty Road, Brighton, Adelaide dating from 1937.

Brighton Municipal Memorial Hall

Brighton Municipal Memorial Hall is Tasmania.

Alfresco, Brighton

This is the view from the beach of Alfresco Restaurant in Brighton. A wonderful location looking out on the historic piers and the English Channel.

The address is given as Milkmaid Pavilion which conjures up more questions in my mind than answers. I presume it was a dressing pavilion for bathers ... but there must be some story behind the Milkmaid name.

From the Upper Esplanade the building looks like a ship cruising into shore. The outside terraces are bounded by metal railings and the tower marking the entrance has porthole windows and a flagpole.

I'm sure as the Alfresco name suggests, this is a lovely place to sit out for a meal or a drink on a sunny English summer afternoon.

Alfred Abrahams House, Brighton

This fantastic Moderne house in Elwood St, Brighton was built in 1935 for Melbourne Solicitor Alfred Abrahams.

My photo shows the private part of the house, the rooms to the left of the circular stairwell are used as public areas and feature large windows facing onto the street and the rear of the property.

The house was used during the filming of Irresistible starring Susan Sarandon, Sam Neill, Emily Blunt and Bud Tingwell.

Reference: Bayside Architectural Trail, Bayside City Council, August 2007

ABC Cinema, Brighton

The ABC Cinema (1930) in Brighton was designed by William Glen.

The cinema closed in 1999 and onverted to a casino. This picture was taken around that time. The films showing are The Haunting, Eyes Wide Shut, The Trench and The General's Daughter.

Bus Shelters, Brighton

Brighton, on England's south coast has, or at least had in 2000, these fabulous deco bus shelters.

These three shown in the photo right are simple structures with curved ends and an oval roof.

Nearby was a more substantial shelter. Bigger and probably made of concrete with an oval concrete roof backing onto the gardens.

The Baths, Middle Brighton

The Baths, Middle Brighton have a long and interesting history. They were originally opened in 1881 but were effectively wrecked during a storm in 1934.

Architects, Oakley & Parkes, designed a moderne streamline building which was opened in the summer of 1936.

Then in 1988, the baths received another makeover to take them into the 21st Century which added some modern glass-enclosed spaces to the pavillion while still preserving the original look of Oakley & Parkes' work.

I think this is another great example of how older buildings can be adapted for modern requirements. In this case the building has retained it's original purpose.

It is clear to anyone looking at the structure which parts date from the 1930s and which parts date from the 1980s.

Ostend, Brighton

Ostend is a substantial block of flats by I G Anderson built in 1934-35. The building sits right on the foreshore in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton providing direct access to the beach. The white doors along the front wall are actually boatsheds and I like to think that at least some residents still house their boats there.

The complex façade is a series of art deco style setbacks. The left edge of the building is squared-off with a flat section broken by a strong vertical band leading to two interlocking semi-circles on the roofline. The rounded balconies marking the end of this section would all been open like the top one in the picture but like Arnold Court in South Yarra most of them have been enclosed.

A somewhat plain section links the balconies with the most striking feature of the façade, a circular tower topped with finials which descend in curved steps from a small pagoda style cap. The ribbed finials continue down the front of the tower casting shadows that provide depth to the building’s seaside face.

A second series of balconies complete the façade by curving around to the side of the building. All of these balconies have been enclosed, unfortunately using different window styles which detract slightly from the original beauty of the façade. It is still a great building though.

Ostend has been repainted recently and looks great against a stormy sky.