Kylie landmark not so lucky
A historic Melbourne eatery and the location of pop star Kylie Minogue’s 1988 Got To Be Certain film clip is under threat of demolition.
An application to demolish Rosati Restaurant in Flinders Lane, to make way for a 38-metre office tower, has been lodged with Melbourne City Council and has drawn the ire of Melbourne’s heritage groups.
Melbourne Heritage Action president Rupert Mann told the Star Observer the proposed destruction of one of Melbourne’s cultural landmarks is “outrageous”.
“We’d like to see the facade retained, and we’d like to see the interiors retained as much as possible. I think the mosaic floors are astounding,” Mann said.
“The building itself is significant as a 120 year-old factory facade, part of the rag trade that was there for many years.”
Mann said inside the restaurant is a “wonderful example of an ’80s interior” and has additional significance for some as the scene of the early Minogue film clip.
“The ’80s is not necessarily widely respected by heritage enthusiasts, and certainly not widely respected by government and regulators in the planning department,” Mann said.
“But we believe it’s a significant interior, we believe it should be protected.
“I’m not a huge Kylie fan but you can see [Rosati] there in all its glory, she’s sauntering around the bar. That’s really indicative of the significance it had. it was the first place in Melbourne where waiters wore white aprons, you could get imported beers, and there were things like coffee and alcohol on the menu.”
The Council is currently reviewing the development application and a notice of decision, which council will vote on, is expected in the next few months.
Mann said he wants developers to listen to the objections and incorporate some of the exisiting facade into the new building.
“We’re asking the developer to at least incorporate the significant elements of Melbourne’s history in this building.
“Melbourne is a multi-layered city heritage-wise, art-wise. The layers of influence and styles in Melbourne are one of the great things about it.
“To come to a place like Rosati, with all these layers of skill, style and art and history, and to just suggest we’re now going to totally demolish and destroy all of that, and not even attempt to entertain the idea of imaginatively incorporating some of these beautiful and unique things into a new building, is extremely unfortunate.”
Developers should incorporate some of the older styles (in-part) into there designs and or even keep some of the original building. Problem solved on ALL fronts.
The same as the other poster, I do sometimes wonder about the balance between heritage buildings and bringing in the new. I wonder how many buildings that we now consider heritage were built on the grounds of other buildings which would have otherwise been protected now? Ensuring an effective use of space in a growing population is important. There’s only so much space in the CBD.
That said, I also wonder about the way new buildings are built; boring pre-fab slab action rocketing to the sky in a few months with designs that may not age so gracefully and exteriors that after their initial sheen wears off are rarely maintained, living the remainder of their poor lives in a crumbling, soot encrusted slumber.
Perhaps where ‘heritage’ is deemed insufficient, there should be an additional onus on the developers to replace with something not of the banal, everyday, dime-a-dozen variety.
Is there a register I wonder of the different generations of buildings considered heritage such that one can know whether or not examples of a particular style are maintained in sufficient number? To say something’s heritage in and of itself is not sufficient in my mind if there’s hundreds and hundreds of other well preserved examples.
theres already enough heritage buildings around, in fact too many! Whats wrong with something being built in the here and now and will be historical in 100 years time? Most windows in old buildings arent properly sealed and bring the outdoor cold in, especially in Melbourne. the 2010s will be a neglected era of building and construction sadly because of champaigne drinking heritage do gooders.