Fotoeins Fotografie

By HL fotoeins on 30 Oct 2015

On the northeastern edge of Melbourne’s downtown or central business district (CBD) is the suburb of Carlton. If you’re not already sipping coffee or noshing on some fine food in the area, you might otherwise miss a historically important green space which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS).

The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens won UNESCO World Heritage Site status as well as Australia’s first National Historic Place in 2004. Neighbouring displays describe the site as:

This building was erected for the Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880-81. As a ‘Palace of Industry’, it displayed the technologies and achievements of the mechanical age. Huge temporary halls housed exhibits of the lates5 products from more than 30 nations. Pianos, typewriters, lawnmowers, electric lights, carriages, and decorative homewares were all on display. Public taste in Melbourne was changed forever. The 1880 International Exhibition was the greatest show the city had ever seen, and attracted over one million visitors. A second, even larger world fair, the Centennial International Exhibition, was staged here in 1888. The Royal Exhibition Building is the only surviving ‘Palace of Industry’ from a 19th-century world fair on its original site. The building is still in use as an exhibition venue.

In 2004 the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens were inscribed upon the World Heritage List of the UNESCO ‘Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage’. Inscription on this list confirms the outstanding universal value of a cultural or natural site that deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity. The Exhibition Building was designed by Joseph Reed and built by David Mitchell for the Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880-81. The building and its associated gardens are a rare intact reminder of the 19th-century international exhibitions movement, which showcased the products of the industrial revolution, promoted the wonders of the technological age, and fostered a global exchange of products and ideas.

The Royal Exhibition Building is managed as a part of Museum Victoria, the museum for the Australian state of Victoria. Carlton Gardens are managed by the City of Melbourne.

How to Reach:

With Public Transport Victoria from the CBD, take tram 86 (to Bundoora RMIT) or tram 96 (to East Brunswick), and disembark the tram at stop “12 – Melbourne Museum/Nicholson St (Fitzroy)” (Gertrude St. and Nicholson St.).

I made the photos above on 28 December 2006 with a Canon PowerShot A510. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-79G.