Perth : Yet Another Abandoned Old Peoples Joint / Running for Council

Speaking of abandoned old people's homes, I'm seriously contemplating running for Council. Perth City Council, councillor. PCC. I mean, fucking come on, two of the current councillors are Real Estate agents. I've dealt with one of the other councillors before. The conversation went  "Mr Councillor, I have noticed a lack of motorcycle car bays in the city. Perhaps, in the spirit of helping to keep the city free of cars and the associated congestion and pollution, and to assist the PCC in its directive of making the CBD a more pedestrian friendly area, you would consider putting in a few more motorcycle/scooter bays?" Mr Councillor : "fuck you". There's a couple of other old, old, old councillors. Combined age, about a million. Too old. Time to move on, GPBB's (Grand Parents of Baby Boomers). There's an Asian councillor chick, and a young-ish [Glen Quagmire] all-riiiight  [/ Glenn Quagmire] whitey lady that claimed $594 for hair expenses, in a single month. Fair enough. Those two birds should probably be runnin' tings. But of course, when I get there, with the help of my cronies, we run ting's, tings nuh run we...

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Northbridge : Is Perth's Best Suburb Dead Already?

Say goodbye to Northbridge. Well, the Northbridge as you know it. If you think Northbridge is scary in 2010 (it isn't), fast forward to 2015, just five years from now. There are now plenty of new restaurants - The Sizzler has opened up in the disused DV8 nightclub, the Krispy Kreme Mega-plex is finally up and running. Wok-In-A-Box is in the same location that Billy Lee's Chinese Restaurant formerly occupied -  the increased rents in Chinatown forced a move out to the burbs (north of Walcott St). Finally, the Butcher Shop, one of the first William St tennants in the new revival of Perth's best street, called it a day. That spot is now Witchery for Men, right next door to Perth's first Baby Giordano...

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Perth : Skyscrapers, Abandoned Railway Tunnel, Iwan Iwanoff Update

Perth remains a construction site. The view is changing every day. 140 William is looking amazing, I am looking forward to the street level connections. This city  is adding buildings at a faster rate than ever before. In the burbs, at ground level, a small Iwan Iwanoff update. Golovin House, 1959, has had a 2009 makeover, and is looking more and more like my lotto dream every day.

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Perth's Abandoned Buildings - Part 2

Where to begin? The Pacific Motel (and licensed restaurant) is superbly located right on the Highgate/Mount Lawley border. A convenient part of town - the Queens Hotel, restaurants, and shopping, are just a few metres away. It's a quick bike ride to the middle of the city.



Balconies are provided to all rooms.

The hallways have had a recent renovation.

Guests can opt for either a north facing standard suite, with Mount Lawley district views...

..and en suite...

..or one of the more spacious, south facing deluxe rooms...

..with Perth CBD views...

..and of course, en suite.

Look, there's no way, at this point, to keep the charade going. This place is quite simply a scary, derelict, abandoned, and crumbling motel. Having formerly lived on this street (6 years ago), I was pretty amazed to see just how bad this building had got. Answer? Pretty fucking bad! Even at its peak, when it was open, the place was scary. Room rates by the hour. Piano bar full of hookers, but...all of that pales in comparison to this utterly disturbed piece of art, currently on display in room 318 (open 24 hours).

"FUCK YOU KEATING"

The pool.

Pretty certain I will be having nightmares tonight.

So, I am pretty much without speech. A crack den in the middle of Mount Lawley. This was a really disturbing place.

On that note, more of Perth's abandoned buildings, coming soon!

Iwan Iwanoff - Brutal Mike Brady vs Frank Lloyd Wright

Brutalism. Iwanoff brutalised Northam in the 70's. The Northam Town Council Offices (1974) and Library (1971) complex. Yes, this is in the country town of Northam, and yes - the good people of Northam, after settling in with the library complex, decided three years later to commission perhaps the single most brutal small scale building in Australia.

The Golovin House, 1959, Mount Lawley, clearly shows the Mike Brady side of Iwanoff. The site itself is modernism in a sea of federation (...not that theres anything wrong with that). This neighbourhood has been part of my stomping ground for some time. As a friend told me, who grew up on the same street: "I didn't know it was an Iwanoff, I just knew it as the house I would buy if I won lotto... "

Ramp to your front door? Yes please!

The next Iwanoff house is located in Coolbinia, the garden suburb to the west of Mount Lawley. Tough to get a good shot, as there is a huge For Sale sign up at the moment. I am unsure of the name, or construction year of this project. Your own Iwanoff - for 1.275 million. Ouch.

The highlight of the day was getting an extensive interior tour of the Iwanoff Tomich House (1972), located in City Beach. Iwan Iwanoff himself lived in this house. The current owners are clearly proud to live in such a masterpiece, and are also in awe of the talent of Iwanoff. Now that I have seen the four story spiral staircase, fish-scale-like brass interior finishes, and cathedral-like summer/winter lounge room, "in awe" is just the beginning.

A multi-story staircase surrounded by a glass and clinker brick tube takes you to your own private viewing platform - an eagles nest at the highest point of City Beach. You can see the highest point of the house in the photo below - the windowed box. Almost 360 degree ocean and interior views. Iwanoff really went to town on this one, inside and out. Mind-blowing.

The vault-like front door, replete with stainless steel facia. Although this door provided the gateway to the most amazing house, the same gateway also emenated sadness, as I discussed Iwan Iwanoff's death with the current owner, who was unaware of the fate that became of Iwanoff. As with Cameo, the Communards, and the Timex Social Club, for Iwan Iwanoff, 1986 was a brutal, brutal, year.