North Melbourne

Layers of ghosts on Abbotsford Street

ghostsigns, psychogeography, Victorian Melbourne, View all 9 comments

If you’ve been following this blog for a while you’ll know that I’m fascinated by ghostsigns – old painted signage, advertising products and businesses that often no longer exist. Melbourne has thousands of these signs, some of them still in excellent condition, others faded away almost to nothing. The ones I prefer tend to be the ones which offer up their secrets slowly – providing just a few clues as to their history, which can be decoded with a little patient investigation.

A classic example occurs on the wall of 445 Abbotsford Street, North Melbourne. Continue reading →

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A walk along Victoria Street (part two)

Architecture, ghostsigns, Industrial history, psychogeography, , View all 3 comments

Elizabeth Street marks the point on Victoria Street where you cross from North Melbourne into Carlton. As with the western section of Victoria Street, there’s a great diversity of things to see along here. I finished the last post with a reference to uncontrolled apartment construction. In contrast, on the other side of Elizabeth Street is the elegant former HQ of the Rechabites, a Victorian temperance society devoted to preventing the evils of strong drink. Continue reading →

Industrial reminders: Kensington to North Melbourne

Industrial history, psychogeography, Victorian Melbourne, , View all 14 comments

I walked from Kensington through North Melbourne on a quiet, warm Sunday in March. Melbourne is basically a Victorian city and when you look around this part of town there are many reminders of its industrial history, including some fine buildings of the practical rather than ornate variety. Continue reading →