Hastings McLeod, Timaru

I thought this was the former State Fire and Accident Insurance Office in Christchurch but I was wrong. It is in Timaru down the coast a bit. It is now used mainly by the Real Estate company Hastings McLeod.

In any case, it might still be a State Fire and Accident Insurance Office since there is one major clue, this magnificent stylised flame motif that appears below each window.

And the graduated red paintwork on the columns is somewhat fire-like and is perhaps a subtle reminder of the building's former use.

The doorway however appears to have been changed with a porch added requiring one of the flames to be covered but the complex deco patterns (perhaps Maori inspired) on either side of the transom window are still visible.

Sussan Building, West Melbourne

There are many aspects of the Sussan Building in West Melbourne.

Firstly, the building has been designed to make the best use of the site especially the way it curves to follow the obtuse angle of the adjoining street. Also as the main street runs downhill, the lower floor expands leaving the roofline at a constant level.

The main entrance is marked by a square parapet with a circular demi-tower. There is also a squat flagpole with a double finial on top.

At the far end of the building in a square tower containing a stairwell and my favourite piece of decoration. The space above the narrow doorway at the base of the tower is dominated by this wonderful piece of deco masonry.

Melbourne Art Deco Calendar

I been having some fun over the last few days on a site I've just discovered called Red Bubble.

It is a site where artists can present their work to a global audience and potentially sell them in various formats including greetings cards, laminated prints and framed prints.

I created a calendar featuring some of the Art Deco architectural details from around Melbourne.

Click on the cover above or the link below if you want to have a look at the photos I selected for the calendar or maybe even buy it !!!

Melbourne Art Deco Calendar

Diamond House, Melbourne

Dating from 1936, by HW & FB Tompkins.

Sitting opposite Myers in Bourke Street Mall, the name across the rooline says it all.

Asmara Wine & Liquor Factory, Asmara

Looking at this picture of the Asmara Wine & Liquor Factory reminds me so much of this city once you are away from the main streets of Liberation and Martyr's Avenues. The wide, almost dusty, streets are all but deserted, certainly there are very few cars. And more often than not the most memorable colour is the purple of the bougainvillea.

The building itself is a long horizontal mass arranged asymetrically around the entrance. Two rows of irregularly spaced windows which perhaps have been altered over time. As can be seen in the second picture, it seems unusual to me for the windows of the separate floors to be so different.

I like the light green band along the roofline bearing the incomplete name of the factory and the scale of the yellow rectangular element around the doorway and the 15 panes of glass above it. It looks like the arrangement of glass and the doors occupy the same area on the facade making the haphazardness of the other windows more puzzling.

former Brook Theatre, Tulsa

The Brook Theatre in Tulsa was designed by William Henry Cameron Calderwood in 1945.

It is now the Brook Restaurant and Bar and it is nice to see that the vertical fin displaying the Brook name has been retained.

The marquee on the front has also been retained and is now used to display selected items from the menu.

Castlemaine Art Gallery & Historical Museum, Castlemaine

The Castlemane Art Gallery & Historical Museum occupies this art deco building. Dating from 1931, it was designed by Percy Meldrum.

At first, the eye is drawn to the carving and incised name above the door but then you start to notice other things.

There is a deep decorative border along the facade of the building at the roofline and the horizontal row set in a raised border on the retaining wall at the front of the property.

There are also two square planters placed either side of the entrance.

But in the end, the eye returns to this incredible carving.

former Majestic Cinema, Belfast

The Majestic Cinema in Belfast opened in May 1936 and closed in October 1975. It is currently an Ideas furniture store.

It was designed by Belfast architect J McBride Neill.

The basic shape of the building remains but the original tiles have been removed or covered. Certainly the flagpole which was at the centre of the facade has been removed.

There is a great picture of the cinema in November 1954 on Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/oldcinemaphotos/2298609350/).