Romanesque Arched Doorway, Former Magistrate’s Court, Melbourne

Romanesque Arched Doorway, Former Magistrate’s Court, Melbourne

arch, architecture, building, columns, Court of Petty Sessions, George B H Austin, hood moulding, law, law courts, magistrate, Magistrate’s Court, masonry, Melbourne, neo-romanesque, Norman Revival, Public Works Department, RMIT, Romanesque architecture, rounded arches, semi-circular arches, stonework, Supreme Court, Swanson Brothers, university, university buildings, Victoria

An image of the entrance doorway to the former Magistrate’s Court Building in Melbourne’s CBD, on the corner of La Trobe Street and Russell Street. The Former Magistrate’s Court Building is a three-storey building of French Romanesque design. As is common of neo-romanesque or Norman Revival architecture, the entrance is strongly modelled; the already large doorway is amplified by archivolts, in this case a band of five semi-circular arches, column jambs and decorative hood moulding.

The Former Magistrate’s Court building was designed by Department of Public Works architect George H B Austin and built by the Swanson Brothers. It replaced a two-storey brick building on the site that previously housed the Supreme Court and then the Court of Petty Sessions. Construction of the new building began in 1911 and was completed in 1914. The Court of Petty Sessions, later renamed the Melbourne Magistrate’s court, operated from the building from 1914 until 1995. It is now owned by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and is used for lectures.

McEwan, Joanne

6 May 2011

No Copyright

Digital Photograph; JPEG

Digital Photograph; JPEG