South Melbourne Town Hall

South Melbourne Town Hall is a civic building located at Bank Place in South Melbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It is of state heritage significance to Victoria being listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (H0217).[1]

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Architecture

The hall was built between 1879-80 to the design of local architect Charles Webb in the Second Empire style, and is considered one of the grandest examples of this style in Australia.

The building is on the Victorian Heritage Register and is part of the important Bank Place precinct, one of the best preserved Victorian era conservation areas in the world.

During the 1950s, the decorative mansard roof elements were removed.

Present functions

After the amalgamation of the City of South Melbourne with the City of Port Melbourne and the City of St Kilda in 1994 to form the new City of Port Phillip, the Town Hall now functions as secondary offices for the new Port Phillip City Council.

The building was restored in 2004 from a government heritage grant, enabling the reinstatement of the decorative roof and iron cresting.

The South Melbourne Town Hall is now home also to the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), which is the national centre for performance excellence for the further development of musicians with outstanding talent in Australia.

References

See also