WIgnall's Buildings, Hobart

Not quite Art Deco but a wonderful Nouveau motif none the less.

Goulburn Street Primary School, Hobart

The first school was built in Goulburn Street, West Hobart in 1844 followed by a new school which opened in January 1887 and served the local community for over 50 years until disaster struck in September 1942 when fire destroyed the building. Somehow the school library, gymnasium and office survived the fire as did the Infant School which was 30 metres from the main building.

The 300 or so pupils continued there education in temporary accommodation but by August 1943 they were able to see a new school being constructed with the laying of the foundation stone by the Minister for Education, Mr Cosgrove.

References:
Goulburn Street Primary School History

Shamrock Hotel, Hobart

Shamrock Hotel, Hobart

A House in Hobart

It was impossible to drive past this side street and not go an have a closer look at this magnificent house.

St Alva, Hobart

This is how St Alva, an apartment block in Hobart, looks from street level. Nice enough but fairly plain. However the back of the building is quite delightful making the most of the location on the banks of the Derwent river.

There are also some great photos of St Alva on Thomas Ryan's Art Deco & Modernism Architecture Tasmania blog.

A House in Hobart

I suppose those trees have grown a lot in the six years since I took this photo so you don't get such a nice view of the house now.

A House in Hobart

A lovely little deco house on the outskirts of Hobart.

Sunray Flats, Hobart

I took these photos in 2006 and it is interesting to me is that in 6 years what was clearly Sunray Flats (from the sign hanging under the stairs) has become Sunray Apartment. Singular? Perhaps the owners are living in the other apartment flat. In any case it is a simple brick block of flats in Hobart with curved corners but I really do like the proportions of the steps to the second storey and roof terrace.

Shops, Hobart

A couple of shops in Hobart that could be so much better looking but the flaking blue paint does nothing for them. I photographed them 5 years ago so hopefully they've been repainted since then.

Republic Bar, Hobart

I guess the owners of the Republic Bar in Hobart have a sense of humour since they chose to that name for their pub. They are even flying the Eureka Flag, a symbol of rebellion, above the old Empire Hotel.

Still, despite how I feel about the possibility of a future Australian republic, I wish they had just left it as the Empire.

Ocean Child Hotel, Hobart

Earlier this month, Thomas Ryan posted a glorious b+w photo of Hobart's Ocean Child Hotel on his Art Deco & Modernism Architecture Tasmania blog.

Unlike my photo (right), Thomas has concentrated on the signage remarking on how the lettering played a major part of Modernist design.

It also looks like the hotel has been repainted (assuming Thomas has posted a recent photo) allowing the three-dimensional nature of the signage to provide the contrast with the body of the building. Too often we see the signage and other decorative features highlighted in contrasting colours where originally the design was intended to be more subtle. The shadows cast by the changing angle of the sunlight striking the facade at different times of the day providing the visual highlghting of the decoration.

Go back and have a look at Thomas' photo again and I think you'll see what I mean.