Modern Melbourne: Australian Architecture, 1920-1956

"Modern Melbourne" was recorded live September 29, 2020, with speaker Robin Grow, president of the Art Deco & Modernism Society of Australia. Preservation Houston offered this program as a Key Contact of the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies, a cooperative worldwide alliance of organizations with an interest in Deco and modernist architecture and design.
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Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, was founded in 1835 and became one of the wealthiest and fastest-growing cities in the world after gold was discovered nearby in the 1850s. Melbourne eventually developed into a trade and financial center known for its elaborate Victorian and Edwardian architecture. A boom in the 1920s ushered in a wave of colorful, stylish and innovative modern design across all building types, from schools and hospitals to theaters and department stores. The trend toward modernism continued after World War II. Central to the city’s postwar growth were the 1956 Olympic Games, which drew international attention to “Marvelous Melbourne.”