The Royal Exhibition Building, located in Melbourne, Australia’s is one of the country’s cherished sites. But its importance stands out not only in Australia, but throughout the world. It gained the honor of being designated a world heritage site on July 1, 2004.
This is the only 19th century Great Hall in Australia, and also among the few ones throughout the world. Many of the other buildings that were designed to house international exhibitions either no longer exist or have been drastically changed.
The architect of this splendid piece of architecture was Joseph Reed. The building also involves various elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance styles.
Two notable events took place in the Royal Exhibition Building’s history – the opening of the Australian Parliament in 1901 and the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in 1888. The latter was devoted to the commemoration of the century-old European settlement in Australia. The Melbourne Centennial Exhibition was open even at night due to the electric lighting. Before that you could find no exhibition at night time.
The building has even hosted basketball, weightlifting and wrestling competitions in the 1956 Summer Olympics.
The Royal Exhibition Building is surrounded by most splendid Carlton Gardens. With its magnificent fountains, and formal garden beds, it makes the scenery spectacular.
The decoration of the building is very interesting. According to the Royal Exhibition Building web site:
On the arches are lunettes (half-moon shaped spaces where the arches meet cornices) representing Peace, War, Federation and Government. The Federation image shows Britannia welcoming the six federated states as young women, while the Government image shows Knowledge enthroned, surrounded by figures representing the arts, education and defense. Eight women in draped costumes symbolize the Four Seasons, Night and Morning, and Justice and Truth. Under the dome are plaster heads from the first decorative scheme of 1880. They include an Indigenous Australian, a Chinese man, and an Indian.
The Royal Exhibition Building continues to house exhibitions (an unusual thing for a surviving exhibition building) like trade shows, cultural and community events. The building is also the host of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.
Photo © Brian Giesen
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