Perth : Graffiti, Modernist Architecture, Abandoned Buildings

Graffiti, Modernist Architecture, Abandoned Building. Brisbane Street, Perth. This is the first photo in an untitled series of photos taken around the scenic Northbridge area of Perth, Western Australia. Volume one, of at least a guaranteed two parts. Then, well, lets just take it one step at a time. Cola, I thank you on behalf of the city of Perth. Enjoy.

Read more »

Perth : So You Want to Open a Bar? LOL!

"Yes, people might get drunk. That's what people do at bars."

With Perth's population growing at approximately 100 people EVERY DAY, you would think it would be in the public interest to open a few more bars here and there. In Perth, the reality is, your chances of opening a new small bar or tavern are very, very slim. Sit down, pour a drink, settle in. Have you checked the rather sobering liquor licensing decisions made over the last few months? Here's a summary: DENIED. Essentially, every liquor license application hinges on this:  "if the application is granted, harm or ill-health might be caused to people or any group of people due to the use of liquor". Yes, people might get drunk. That's what people do at bars. I swear I'm living in Bizarro World. Anyway, on top of that, if your application is denied (it will be), you probably won't be able to re-apply for three years. Meaning, you only  have one shot at getting it right. Between September 2008 and November 2010, the applications for twenty-two new small bars were denied. However, in December, 2010, things took a very drastic turn for the worse. Read on, to see how some of Perth's most respected restauranteurs, hoteliers, and entrepreneurs have been denied their one shot.

Read more »

Perth : McShit

"The population density for JUST the CBD/central city area of Perth... is lower than that of the entire metropolitan suburban area of Los Angeles, California."

What follows is an "only in Perth" story of ineptitude and face-palmery. First, the background story. On the corner of Beaufort Street and Parry Street's in Perth City, lies a vacant block. It's been vacant for many years. Without doubt, it is one of the prime CBD fringe blocks. Walking distance to pretty much every amenity, it would be, without exaggeration, one of the most convenient places on earth to live. Free transport to your door. Supermarket across the road. (Coles, as featured in the very first post ever made here). The Weld Square park is across the road. Heart of Northbridge, a two minute walk. CBD, four minute walk. TAFE, Art Gallery, State Library, Museum, and the Good Fortune Roast Duck House, all nearby. Multi-storey residential developments popping up all around this block. Really, it's close to faultless. So what happened?

Read more »

Perth: William Street Revival - EPRA - Northbridge Link - Abandoned Perth

EPRA, congratulations, you get Northbridge. No franchises for William Street. Although my predictions about the Death of Northbridge by 2015 are looking a bit shakey, I stand by my 2025 prediction of a Terminator scenario, and my 2035 prediction, that being the year humans realise they have been living in the Matrix for at least the last thousand years. Yes, from now on, I will refer to EPRA as Duke, the King of Perth, A-Number-One. SAY IT! EPRA YOU'RE THE DUKE OF PERTH A-NUMBER ONE!

Read more »

Restaurant Review : Good Fortune Roast Duck House, Northbridge. Plus, Abandoned Sail Factory Photo Tour

Good Fortune Roast Duck restaurant, William Street, Northbridge. An institution. However, during a recent visit, something terrible happened to me. I feel so dirty. So ashamed. So... so... white. I ordered the boneless roast duck with noodles, and an extra serving of choy sum. Its a great lunch time treat. Always delivered to the table quickly. This time,  something was wrong. Very wrong. Trinny and Susannah wrong. Although I am finding it difficult just remembering the experience, I have to write it down here, you know, to let it out, and move on with my life. Yes, I got the dreaded - Guilo Special. AKA the whitey deluxe. No duck sauce. No plum sauce. Am I really, just another Guilo?

Read more »

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...

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Perth - Is It Time Yet?

Perth has given me a strange feeling lately. Its telling me - move on. Weird, because I love this city. I feel at home here. I'm always busy. Checked out Martin's "Territory Twelve" exhibition at Kurb Gallery, fantastic. Checked out Ben and Si's as well, at Turner - amazing. I watched the Pyrophone Juggernaut at the Northbridge Piazza opening, a musical instrument spewing fire-balls and beats into the warm Perth air. Went to see the huge travelling jade Buddha at the museum, very peaceful. Had a bunch of friends around for a pretty typical Perth night-in - beer, cocktails, and pizzas. A random lady pulled her pants down and urinated at my front gate, but thats just part of living in the city (I tried to get a photo for this blog, but wasn't quick enough). The one night boredom came to town last week, I roamed the city late at night taking most of the photos on this page.

Read more »

Perth - Nasty Nas Spotted on Aberdeen St, Construction Update, more CBD Laneways

The rise of Northbridge, Perth's best suburb, continues. Not too many places in the world you can enjoy a bowl of chilli mussels, and watch american lyricist and actor, Nas. Having been a fan of Nas since his Live at the BBQ days, it was always my dream to sit in an Italian restaurant on Aberdeen Street, eat chilli mussels, and watch a delivery of raw poetry from one of the most intelligent and influential hip hop artists of all time.

Read more »

Iwan Iwanoff, Artist - Three More of Perths Best Houses, plus, Amok and Abandoned in Northbridge

Iwan Iwanoff was prolific. Lucky Perth. This modernist piece is located in the inner-city garden suburb of Coolbinia. Perths Best Architecture has covered this one recently, if you haven't checked the site, you should. Over there, its all about architecture. Over here, well, just look at the "labels" list for this blog. This may be the Flaumen residence, 1965. Sources sketchy on that one.

This is purely for juxtapositional purposes. Northbridge delivery truck.

Now this one, kills two birds with one stone. There's a nice flow from the last photo, and Harry Seidlers QV1 in the background will take me from this tangent, and back to another Iwanoff.

We're back. Yes. Another Iwanoff residence. I found out about this one, from an anonymous comment left here. Thanks, Anonymous person. Dalkeith Iwanoff. Year and name, unknown to me. Probably mid 60's. However, it should be said that these houses hurt me. Really, it actually hurts.

As my colleague said today "what the fuck do you think the posty said when he came across this for the first time?". The art of the letter box. Iwanoff was clearly as much artist as architect.

Back in the epicentre of Iwanoff terriory - Dianella. AKA Iwanella, home to many, many Iwanoffs, such as the utterly spectacular Masala House. The Feldman House, 1968, predated Masala by 6 years. Great detail, as usual, starting with the letter box, and finishing off with a good dash of Mike Brady. Fantastic.

Winter in Perth.

So, there we have it. Three more Iwanoff buildings, taking the total on this site, to twenty five. Very prolific! I'm sure there are more Iwanoff's to come. (wink).

In the meantime, it could have been another abandoned building post, but really, it was sunny outside, so I stopped right here. William St, Northbridge.

Just across the street was much better. Dutch artist Amok, from Amsterdam, home of, well, everything good, has been busy with the locals. His international flavor on William St, Northbridge, adds nicely to the pallet already on offer. Thanks Amok, thanks locals. Panoramic picture, click for the full version.

Perth in 3D - Rooftop Views - Northbridge Link

If there's one thing that beats an abandoned building, its a rooftop. Perth put on a trademark winter sunset on Friday evening. Fortunately, that was the day after I had figured out how to get onto the roof of a Perth tower. From this angle, it is clear that Perth is finally moving away from the St Georges Terrace 2D spine, and into the realms of 3D. William St is at the forefront of this expansion North.

The train-line is a harsh divider, limiting not only the expansion of the city core North (towards the right in this photo), but also restricting the movement of people, the lifeblood of the city. Do humans respond to the topological aesthetics of a skyline? Strangely enough, much like a tropical rain-forest, once the city canopy extends above, life will naturally follow and grow below. The Northbridge Link plants the seeds for the extension of our CBD forest.

If you want to see the real version of the photo below, click this link.

Northbridge - New Developments in Abandoned Realestate - and Krispy Kreme in Perth?

The Northbridge abandoned warehouse looks even better now, as at June 26th 2009. Pity, by the time you have read these words, it will be gone forever. This photo was taken from the outside, showing a CBD reflection of the Bankwest Tower on the remaining glass. Shortly, the site will be used for a new Northbridge police station. Initially, it is anticipated that donut sales will go through the fucking roof on James St. The current rumour eventually sees the Krispy Kreme chain opening in Perth for the first time on the ground floor, with the 2nd, 4th, and 5th floors featuring smaller Krispy Kreme outlets, similar to those of many airports. I love cops!

Perth - Abandoned Buildings Part 4 - Northbridge - Perth's best neighbourhood

Northbridge is the most diverse and vibrant neighbourhood in the entire City of Perth. Everything it is lacking, is a good thing. Franchise fast-food outlets, and police presence, for example. Its Perth's most walkable neighborhood. You don't need a car - everything you desire is within a 5 minute walk. Yes, everything - from rice crackers to heroin. Fortunately, not having a car, you will come across sites like this one - formerly a luxury and imported car yard, it is now an abandoned collection of warehouses. Home to artists, junkies, and people generally just taking a nap before heading home from a hard night out on the sauce.

The Jaguar sign is still present. A German tourist is caught taking photo's. Adolf, 34, from Berlin, was very impressed with the skills of local "innenarchiteckts", or "interior designers".

CBD views. This should give locals an idea where this abandoned structure is. The "Northbridge Link", a project slated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, will take place immediately in front of this building. Finally, the railway will be transformed to subway, and the City will rejoin Northbridge, making some kind of futuristic "super CBD".

Bonus artwork photo.

Northbridge, William Street, Perth's Best Street.

William Street, Northbridge. This is the best street in Perth. The view changes daily. If I miss a daily visit, I miss seeing a view for the last time. Today I saw some demolishing going on, and thought - shit, I don't remember what was there yesterday. In the background is evidence of Perth leaving the comforts of two dimensions, and finally moving to the unknown - the third dimension.

I have always thought someone needs to document the old, hand drawn, signs around the city. Its been a few years since I had that thought for the first time, and one by one, all the signs I remember are gone. Hollywood Caterers - Willam Street, Perth - the sign hangs on, the Hollywood chef left long ago.

Easter for atheists. William Street. Shades of Amsterdam, in PVC.

Living in Perth 6000, a city of 1.6 million, there is only a small handful of residents in the city itself.  Soon, for the first time, I will have a local supermarket - Coles Tyne Square (Beaufort Street, above). The pharmacy is open now. Fuck I hope a bottle-shop opens up here, for so many reasons.

The thing about this view of Perth,  is that there are at least five separate cinema complexes that no longer exist, or no longer operate. Cinema City was one of Perth CBD's best example of eighties architecture and design.  A geometric, chocolate coloured, glass, box. The interior featured a soaring chrome space framed ceilings, lashings of velour, and of course, plenty of mirrors. External signage was brushed aluminium. Back in the day, it featured a large number of arcade machines. This isn't misplaced nostalgia, the building really was special.  It was demolished in 2008. Hoyts Cinema, in the Hay street mall, had an amazing interior. You can still see the Hoyts building in the pic above - its the white trapezoid. I stole the photos below. 

The chocolate box. 

Cinema City interior, stolen from some guys Flikr.

Hoyts. How fucking awesome. Gone. While I'm showing stolen photo's, heres an old one of the last cinema in the Perth CBD, Piccadilly.

  

William Street view - tomorrow, it will all be different.