Royal Exhibition Building

The Royal Exhibition Building is one of Melbourne's great treasures. It is one of the few exhibition buildings left standing in the world still in its original setting. Surrounded by the beautiful Carlton Gardens this site had remained relatively unscathed with only the addition of a large sealed carpark and various extensions to increase the exhibition space.

More recently, the building has undergone a major refurbishment to restore it to its previous splendour and the site is now, somewhat controversially, also the home of the new Museum of Victoria. The museum was originally to be built on Southbank and construction had actually been started but this site is now the home of that other great architectural wonder, the Exhibition Center, or Jeff's Shed as it is better known by locals. As a compromise, the extensions have been removed returning the building closer to its original condition.

The influence of the building goes well beyond the boundaries of the park. The layout of the streets to north and nearby parks are more an extension of the design, making the building a true centerpiece in Carlton. Having lived for a year in Canning Street, I have had the pleasure of walking to work with the magnificent view of the dome above the elm trees with the city as a back drop.

For a lengthy period of the early construction of the museum we had "the great mound". The soil on the site was contaminated, no one wanted it in their landfill so it just sat there on site, waiting to fill the holes again. The museum is now well under way and as predicted by locals it has completely changed the nature of the park to the north.

You only have to walk inside the front door to realise that the Exhibition Building is truly special and as long as it stands the Exhibition Center will always be known as Jeff's Shed. Come inside and see for yourself...