This beautiful sandstone building, now the Sydney College of the Arts, started out life as the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane, which when it opened in 1883 was the first purpose-built ‘moral therapy’ facility in Australia. Continue reading “Former Callan Park Hospital For The Insane”
Gorman House was constructed in 1925. At that time only it and the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings ( both still on Northbourne Avenue) existed in Civic – the embryonic commercial part of Canberra. The building was designed by John Smith Murdoch who also designed Old Parliament House and the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt). You can certainly see the similarities in design. Continue reading “Gorman House Art Centre, Markets and Canberra Contemporary Art Space”
Given that this is Canberra’s oldest building you would have thought it might be of significant importance and a major tourist draw-card. This is not so as: Continue reading “Duntroon Dairy – Canberra’s Oldest Building”
The Exiles Club, in the centre of Georgetown, was constructed in 1830 as a single story barracks for the Marines with the second story and the clock-tower added in 1848. The clock-tower supposedly replaced the earlier tradition of firing a cannon on an hourly basis to mark the passage of time. Continue reading “Exiles Club (Marine Barracks)”
As indicated in my main review on Rookwood Necropolis, it is the largest cemetery in the Southern Hemisphere. It is sometimes cited as having its own post-code. While this is somewhat of an exaggeration, area-wise the cemetery does make up the majority of the Rookwood post-code area. Continue reading “Rookwood Necropolis – Mortuary Train Stations”
I had not planned on visiting the University of Sydney but one Sunday morning I was having a look around Victoria Park before heading into the suburb of Glebe to do a bit of exploring when I noticed the clock tower of the university from the park and decided to go up and have a quick look at the building. Continue reading “University of Sydney”
It would be pretty difficult to visit any part of Riga south of the Old City and not notice this massive building to the south/south-east of the Central Market. Buildings do not get any more Soviet than this one and, architecturally, I found it very much to my liking. Continue reading “Latvian Academy of Sciences Building”
Tucked away in Mazā Pils iela you will find the Three Brothers – three Medieval to Baroque period houses, in a terrace like format. In medieval times houses at this location would have been on the outskirts of the city and home to craftsmen and their families. Today, the houses are home to the Latvian Museum of Architecture (No 19 – the centre house) and the State Inspectorate for Heritage Protection which you likely would not have cause to visit. Continue reading “The Three Brothers”
The Tower of the Juche Idea (Juche Tower) is one of the most important elements of Pyongyang’s iconography which all directly or indirectly glorify the life of the country’s modern day founder and Eternal President, Kim Il-sung. The Juche Tower celebrates the Great Leader’s Juche Idea of self reliance (see my main Juche Tower review for further detail).
The Tower is one of the most visible features in the city and you will see it regularly as you move (i.e. are brought) around the city. I think it is especially nice when lit up at night.
Anyway, you will want to climb it and you can do so. Continue reading “Juche Tower – The View from the Top”
In my Chollima Statue review I explained how Kim Il-sung was keen that the redevelopment of North Korea, after the devastating impact of the Korean War, occur as quickly as possible and in 1956 he first urged his people to “rush at the speed of Chollima.”
The Rambling Wombat 