Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, October 13, 2014,
Last weekend was a very colourful one in the city centre. Firstly, there was
Oktoberfest in the Gardens. While in the CBD I saw lots of young people in their lederhosen, many of them more than a tad tipsy.
Then yesterday (Sunday) there was the
Perth Ramble. As I left Dome Cafe on St Georges Terrace mid-arvo the event was in full swing. There were numerous imaginatively costumed teams all in search of mysterious treasure.
There were so many of them, they actually seemed to constitute the majori...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, October 8, 2014,
Earlier I wrote about how the new Subidoo restaurant replaced
the old Oriel Cafe. Well, recently in the CBD I noticed a similar transformation. This one involved the stylish and once very popular King St Cafe.
It too closed down.
Now the building has a new tenant. But it's not a cafe or restaurant. It's a
fashion house called Miu Miu.
A couple of years ago a made a video of the swish little precinct. King St Cafe was still open back then. It appears at about the halfway mark.
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, June 25, 2013,
Mayor of the City of Vincent Alannah MacTiernan is angered by WA's new residential housing codes. The
changes are minor:
WA's new residential housing codes, to come into effect on August 2, reduce the minimum open space requirement for multi-dwelling R50 and R60 developments from 45 per cent to 40 per cent.But of course this is all too much for Ms MacTiernan. She says the change will contribute to a heat island effect. Wouldn't be surprised if she
invokes climate change as well ...
I think mos...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, December 5, 2012,
Numerous big luxury apartment blocks have been built in Perth over the last several years. Perhaps the most impressive and well located of these are the Equus Apartments at 580 Hay St.
The main entrance is right opposite the Perth Town Hall. I recall that exact location very well, because it was where Cinema City used to be. That was built in the late seventies as I recall and there was a lot of excitement about it at the time. I saw dozens of movies there over the years. (I think the last one...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, November 20, 2012,
I was in the CBD yesterday and was suprised to see a huge Christmas tree in the Murray St Mall. It gave me a shock because I didn't realize that we were quite that close to the silly season ...
I noticed that there were people throwing multi-coloured confetti around. I didn't know where it had come from but was left in no doubt soon after when machines at various positions around the tree started blowing it onto the crowd. The people clearly enjoyed the spectacle and many recorded it on their ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, September 17, 2012,
Everyone in Perth will know the building located at 68 Milligan St. It's close to the heart of the CBD, and is right opposite where the old Perth Entertainment Centre used to be.
It's a low-slung, curved and oddly shaped building that looks as thought it was built fairly recently. But it's actually been there for a long while, at least 40 years I would say.
I'm certain of this because I can clearly remember when the top section housed a roller skating rink. I think it was a car park during the...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, June 12, 2012,
The big local construction project that has been getting the most publicity (and causing the most controversy!) recently is the
Perth Arena. Perhaps second on the list would be the tower above Brookfield Place (originally called City Square).
This impressive structure is located on St Georges Terrace and looms over the Esplanade Busport.
The cranes in the above shot are gone now, and the building has been pretty much completed. The offices are gradually being filled by the major tenant
BHP Bill... Continue reading ...
Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, April 20, 2012,
Terrace Road is right near the centre of the CBD, just near the Perth Concert Hall and the Duxton Hotel. There are several old apartment blocks on that road that have a great view of the Swan River and South Perth. They've been significantly refurbished in recent years.
I've wandered down that road a few times now and it always brings back fond memories of my childhood. Back in the seventies, after my parents separated, my father moved into one of these flats. My sister and I would stay there ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, March 9, 2012,
Still on the subject of state politicians making observations about big changes
affecting Perth, former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett says the frenzy of construction going on in this city is
reminiscent of Dubai.
While we certainly don't have as many huge and ornate skyscrapers over here, the skyline has definitely changed a lot in recent years.
The shot below is from North Perth. You can't see every major building in the CBD, of course. Some are concealing each other. But two of the tallest o...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 14, 2011,
At about the same rate that the Perth Entertainment Centre is being
demolished the nearby
Perth Arena is being
constructed. It's much bigger than the "Ent Cent" and I suspect will be a lot harder to tear down when it too finally passes its "use by" date several decades from now. As you can see from this shot (which, like all the others in this post, was taken in early August) it's amazing how much steel is in there!
Although it is a very big structure, you really can't get a sense of its size...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 7, 2011,
The stretch of William Street between Murray and Hay is right in the heart of Perth's CBD. It has long been one of the busiest parts of the city. But even up until, say, five years ago, it wasn't all that different from what I recall from my youth.
I definitely can't say that about it now. Lately, there's been a lot of construction along William Street. And of course there's the Perth Underground Train Station, which opens onto the Murray Street Mall, right near the corner of William Street.
I...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, April 22, 2011,
Many of the older railway stations in Perth have been substantially improved, if not completely rebuilt, in recent years. But some have remained pretty much the same. One of these is Mt Lawley train station.
The shot below was taken looking away from Perth and north towards Midland.
Mt Lawley is a very comfortable, leafy suburb. While not as well off as, say, Peppermint Grove, it's certainly well to do. The area to the left of the photo above certainly boasts many impressive, large and stylish ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, November 17, 2010,
Barrack St is at the very heart of the Perth CBD. Buses come up from the Esplanade station, and travel north until it transforms into Beaufort St. They then turn off into other suburbs at various points. Many, many times as a kid I caught the 53 bus there to my home in Dianella. That particular route seems to have disappeared, unfortunately. Still, many of the other buses that I recall such as the 21, 60, the 67 and others are still going strong. It sounds a tad sentimental to say this, but ...
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