What happened to Melbourne's coffee palaces?

[@MarkyDav]

It's devastating how much of Melbourne's history has been knocked down :(

[@JasonDouglasRalph67]

Thanks to Whelan The Wrecker.

[@gore1089]

Sydney was going knock down the QVB to build a car park.

[@DavidSweetnam]

@@JasonDouglasRalph67 It’s who Australians are. Look around neighbourhoods like Richmond and old houses are making way for cookie cutters, it’s an extension of the colonial spirit, build then destroy

[@Boz196]

Just to be replaced by soulless metal and glass skyscrapers.

[@arrogance8478]

@@Boz196 actually most of the grandest buildings destroyed in Melbourne were replaced with horrid brown eyesores that we've now pulled down and replaced with the glass and metal towers

[@aussietaipan8700]

Nothing warms the heart on a cold winters day better than coffee.

[@laurawilson5119]

Another example of a coffee palace that survived is at Kilbreda College in Mentone. The building, after the financial crash of the 1890s did fall into disrepair but was eventually turned into a convent. In turn this became a school. However, the original building is still quite a feature in the area and definitely dominates over the streets.

[@paulhicks3595]

Well done! One of the remaining buildings is the South Yarra Coffee Palace on the corner of Toorak Rd and Claremont st. It’s now a the Hotel Claremont. It was there in 1889/1890 that a young Irish domestic servant , not long off the boat, met a seafaring Frenchman (It was probably on a Sunday afternoon when she’d had some time off from her duties in the nearby home of the Brookes family ). They were married soon after in the nearby Catholic Church and took up the running of a hotel in what is now Lakes Entrance. They’re my great grandparents, Jean Baptiste Confait and Ellen Cunningham.

[@fritula6200]

Just brilliant Paul, what an honour : God bless your family... history at its best.

[@linus1703]

I never knew our history of coffee goes back so far and it has its roots in anti alcohol. Great video

[@EnJayMelbourne]

Great to see Melbourne's history is still alive and well. ✌🏻

[@findJLF]

This is a fascinating video! Thank you so much. What a tragedy that these buildings are not still with us today. The office block (old Board of Works) build at 555 Collins was a horrid building.. and has recently been sold off (was used by National Australia Bank for many years) and re-fitted out in the last few years. I'm going to follow your channel as the subject of Melbourne's historic buildings is of great interest to me.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

Some amazing architecture in this episode. On Melbourne Cup Day in 1895, the exotic Oriental Tea Room was opened as part of Cole's Book Arcade in Bourke Street (where David Jones is today). Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling both visited there on occasion. The Book Arcade's creator, E. W. Cole, was staunchly anti-alcohol and was also fiercely opposed to the White Australia policy, so he employed waitresses of Chinese heritage to give the place some authenticity.

[@maifantasia3650]

My dad has a couple of the hard-cover Cole's Funny Picture books stored away. From memory, the back cover has an illustration of the Cole's Book Arcade. Until I read your comment (and looked it up), I never realised that the Cole's Book Arcade was an actual place. I thought it was just some fantasy depiction to add to the other stories in the books.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

​@@maifantasia3650 I can understand that, given that the Funny Picture book was so over the top, but Cole's Book Arcade was incredible: it had its own live band who played in the music department, a fernery complete with aviary, a printing department, the aforementioned tea room and even monkeys in cages.

[@garynewton1263]

Some great and interesting history there. Twain & Kipling. And of course Houdini was a visitor to Melb several times. Very few people realise Melbourne was one of several 'world' cities back in the 1850s to around 1900 time period along with Ballarat, Vienna, Paris, New York, London

[@NewFalconerRecords]

​@@garynewton1263 There is a Houdini connection with E. W. Cole as well. Cole was long obsessed with the idea of "heavier than air" flight -- even in the 1800s he knew that flying machines would be a thing at some stage and even offered a few wacky illustrations of his idea of what they would look like in the 'Cole's Funny Picture Book'. When Houdini came here in 1909 he did several powered flights at Digger's Rest (100 feet in the air) and Cole was there to witness it. It meant a lot to him.

[@garynewton1263]

@@NewFalconerRecords Yes, I've read about Houdini being the first in Australia to fly a powered areoplane. I'm proud that it happened in Victoria. Houdini loved Melbourne.

[@benlever3172]

Nice work Philip. It's worth mentioning that the gold rush brought coffee palaces to a number of places in regional Victoria as well, albeit some a lot more grand than others. Most of these have vanished as well, but Reid's Coffee Palace in Ballarat and the Midland Private Hotel in Castlemaine are some nice remaining examples, both near their respective railway stations.

[@philipmallis]

Thank you! And yes you're right, there were many more right across Victoria and Australia.

[@bernardd]

There is an important new chapter to this story. Melbourne was one of the first cities to see the emergence of the Third Wave coffee movement in the mid 2000s; small boutique coffee shops that serve single origin and have a direct relationship with the growers, as opposed to brand based stores like Hudson or Starbucks.

[@supa3ek]

Ive been around the world and..........Every country always says they were one of the first lololol. Dont make that claim unless you have ...been around the world to see !!!

[@Gray-beard]

Melbourne's coffee culture is rather overrated - but only by Melbourneans...

[@deborahcurtis1385]

What you say is true and also we are regarded as having experts in the field. I've met Colombians who have come here specifically to learn about coffee making at all levels. They know they have the raw materials but they appreciate there's an art to it and have come here for that.

[@bernardd]

@@supa3ek Yes, I guess the term 3rd Wave is a bit fuzzy. I used to get specialty coffee in the US back in the 90's but that was at niche shops. Even back in the mid 2000s, I could not easily find specialty coffee shops in NYC, and I don't mean Starbucks. James Hoffmann did mention Melbourne and a couple of other cities as being where third wave really took off. Don't ask me to find the video though.

[@man.inblack]

@@Gray-beard there’s a reason why Starbucks failed in Australia, because places like Melbourne already had good coffee. I’d say Starbucks is the epitome of overrated, and Melbourne has enough choice to have a variety of opinions and outlets. Choice is not overrated and that’s something it has in droves.

[@MakkaDownunder]

This was wonderful! I've spent the last hour deep-diving historical maps to try and find some. I work in Collingwood and recognise the façade above the Woolworths on Smith Street.

[@man.inblack]

Was Collingwood full of bootmakers? I did strayan history and it covered ‘smelbourne’. I learnt to look above street level to see history- which has mostly disappeared

[@MakkaDownunder]

@@man.inblack not sure about boot-makers, but loooots of textiles, so it's very likely

[@mitebcool]

I just discovered recently the City of Melbourne Building at 112-118 Elizabeth St was actually designed by the same architects as the Federal Coffee Palace and built around the same time, its like a miniature version with the same style of ornate decoration on the exterior, while still very impressive its a really a shame the state it's in though, I cant believe nobody has bothered to clean and restore it, it would look absolutely amazing.

[@maifantasia3650]

(This comment is firmly tongue in cheek). I disagree with restoration/cleaning of that building. The demons and ghouls that reside within it's numerous secretive rooms and infinite corridors would go on the rampage at such a disturbance to their peace and solitude.

[@cairnex4473]

If it's heritage listed and it almost certainly is then the restrictions placed on future development are so onerous as to dissuade any developer from spending the money required... So eventually it deteriorates to a point where it gets demolished. More wonderful unintended consequences of governmental regulation.

[@maifantasia3650]

@@cairnex4473 - if that building was ever demolished, what occured in New York City in _Ghostbusters (1984),_ after the EPA shut down the containment unit, would look like a minor disturbance, in comparison. "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!"

[@liamjenkins244]

I've walked past that building so many times & wondered what it was for. I call it the Sanctum Sanctorum.

[@ladyteeeee670]

I used to have a studio in that building and I loved it. It's so cool inside and you can smoke on the roof.

[@ipenney3]

The old Mentone Coffee Palace building still survives as Kilbreda School in Mentone.

[@rvmpshaker3910]

Such a gorgeous building, an incredible shame you can no longer view its magnificence from the train with the recent Mentone railway station upgrade 😔

[@james7149]

A nice connection for my memories Philip. I purchased one of the last “Gibbys Coffee Lounge” shops back in the 1970’s. Gibbys was a coffee institution for Melbourne especially in the 1950’s/60’s. They were characterised by large prints of of Charles Dickinson era London Coffee Palace scenes for which our shop retained. The continuance of the name was not an option so we renamed our shop “Clayton’s” but left the Gibbys format intact. Being next to the iconic “Tiki and John’s” theatre restaurant and theatre district meant meeting some interesting characters over those years. A very different Marvellous Melbourne in those days! Love your work Philip👏

[@philipmallis]

Thank you for sharing, that's very interesting. I'll have to look into that!

[@james7149]

@@philipmallis Thanks Philip, the “best” of the Gibbys Lounge shops was in Royal Arcade. I wonder if a look at those original Melbourne Theatre Restaurants (Tiki and John’s) or iconic restaurants aka “The Olive Tree”are worth a look at?

[@DeMews]

I remember Gibbys and Tiki and Johns, was just but a teenager back then.

[@wallypoffle7796]

Great work Philip. You provide a priceless historical record of those precious years.

[@philipmallis]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@xr6lad]

My parents had their wedding reception and wedding photos (the latter in the lobby) in 1965 in the Federal hotel on Collins St.

[@neeni4]

Great research Phillip…and a wonderful education. I’ll have to walk in the front door of the one on Grey St….not far, and was very happy to see the quite traditional restoration of the building on the corner of Grey and Fitzroy just recently…very much in keeping with the Coffee Palace and the George Hotel across the way.

[@maifantasia3650]

Love your videos Mr. Mallis and, with the amount of research and detail you go into, it's easy to make minor errors. The gold rush you mention at 2:47 would have been in 1851.

[@philipmallis]

Thank you! And yes you're very right, apologies for the confusion!

[@maifantasia3650]

@@philipmallis - thank you but no need for the apologies as the images certainly set the scene for the 1800's. As always, keep up the fantastic work that you do, researching, exploring and sharing your videos of the magnificent city of Melbourne.

[@kayelinsa655]

Fascinating! I hadn't realised coffee had such a long history in Melbourne. Thank you.

[@melissaellis8796]

Great video. Peter Jansen the ex racing car driver used to live in the Penthouse of the Federal Coffee house until its demolition. Good to see one of my local cafes “Ginger Fox” in the video too! 💫

[@mrdarcy9379]

Melbourne has always had the best coffee. Great story. 😊

[@leomat3431]

Great as always, much enjoyed, those early coffee palaces remind me of the Budapest coffee palaces and Vienna of course. Most of those are still standing and going strong, its a shame we lost those buildings.

[@deborahcurtis1385]

Whelan the Wrecker has a lot to answer for!

[@zinademarchi8634]

Thank u so much for this delightful piece of history (though sad to see only a few still standing). Broke my heart that an architectural giant like the Federal Coffee Palace was demolished 🥲

[@graemewillis3905]

Thanks for highlighting the rich and interesting buildings around Melbourne. I try and look up as I walk around - above the ubiquitous plate glass windows at street level you can often see upper levels which show their original use.

[@collectivesartori]

Don't make me cry. Absolute architectural sacrilege demolishing the Federal Coffee Palace on King Street. One of the finest buildings ever to be erected in Melbourne, if not Australia. Sadly no more. A lasting travesty.

[@Sami-ArtAus]

I agree, it's stunning. My Mother worked there in the 50s and it was the most beautiful building in Melbourne, if not Australia. How could this work of Art be "demolished?"

[@collectivesartori]

@@Sami-ArtAus absolute vandalism

[@PropanePete]

Great video, really interesting. I remember in the 50’s and 60’s you’d see “Whelan the Wrecker was here” signs everywhere in Melbourne.

[@man.inblack]

I was born in the late 60s but relate to your comment so there must have been some in the 70s or early 80s too

[@lauriewhite8153]

Hi Philip, a very interesting video. In Echuca (where I live) there is an old Coffee Palace and Temperance Hotel. It became an Antique dealer, but I'm not sure what it is used for now

[@WayneSchuller]

Great video on a fascinating part of Melbourne history. The temperance movement also built a number of Rechabite halls which are still dotted around Melbourne suburbs today.

[@gullwingstorm857]

I remember the Italian and Greek owned coffee lounges like The Golden Tower, etc that had little juke boxes at each table.

[@fritula6200]

Yes, me too agree! No more European immigrants..... all stopped, BUT wonderful stuff we Australia learnt from one another... we still have it today and it has made our home Australia richer in every aspect! It was an exciting time l remember!! I'm glad l was a part of it, l myself from Europe.

[@thisisfabulosa]

Great stuff, great images ! Glad to see you read my edits to the federal coffee palace getting their wine licence first, and liquor licence much later. Only quibble is that tea was always more popular than coffee, but coffee required a large machine, so you had to out to get some.

[@andrewmcphee8965]

Always enjoy your videos, thanks very much Philip. So glad the Windsor was never demolished, the thought is horrifying.

[@PoketamaVideos]

fantastic! your videos give me hope for something different in this world, to see the massively different city we have lost means that massive changes can happen :)

[@peterwhelan6144]

Certainly in Victoria, I think probably most country towns had a Coffee Palace . I was born in Warracknabeal and there was a substantial one there , and even though it was still called “ the Coffee Palace “ in 1960s it had long stopped serving coffee . My mother worked for a time at the coffee palace in Murtoa in the1930s .Both these towns are in the Wimmera .

[@romanr9977]

Yes I’ve just discovered this myself yesterday when I came across a photo of a coffee palace in Maryborough, a town west of Maldon and Castlemaine.

[@pierremainstone-mitchell8290]

A fascinating video and thank you very much! Growing up in the 50s & 60s and having English maternal grandparents I'd always thought that tea was the main non-alcoholic drink of choice but it definitely seems not!

[@StarkIller-df7gw]

The Federal Coffee Palace WOW what a grand building & to think this was demolished. Surely it could have been repurposed. I love those old grand buildings what a treat it would be to enjoy coffee in that setting today. Even if we wanted to im not sure we could build it as beautifully today! Seems our buildings have lost their granduer & elegance!

[@kerriemccoy1647]

Sad to here most of the old buildings were demolished, I rather the old look of buildings than the modern ones today. Also I didn't know that they had a coffee house in Mornington, I always knew it as a pub.

[@seanrendell410]

The coffee house shown at the 2 minute mark is not located in Melbourne nor Victoria but is located in Mitcham, Adelaide South Australia.

[@kitesurferpeter]

Just got back from a cycling trip to Spain, France and Switzerland. Melbourne has the best coffee in the world. Very interesting to hear the history of coffee palaces setup to compete with pubs.

[@katiebarnshaw]

was very pleasantly surprised to see my sleepy hometown beaumaris featured at 6:52! fantastic video as always philip :^)

[@garynewton1263]

I've seen many of Philip's videos. They are always detailed, well explained and really interesting. Pity he isn't hosting programs on australian television regarding Victorian history, I'd be an avid viewer. ✌️

[@martinsnowden2825]

Hard to believe they are gone from the city, such grand architecture

[@peta2457]

Awesome thank you what a great video now I am going exploring with a coffee in hand around Melbourne to see what still remains

[@ThisIsARubbishName]

Always happy to see temperance union bubble taps, and, posh hotels for coffee, too. I wish we had those style kind of ... third places with no booze now!

[@timothygrasso2879]

Another former Coffee Palace is Kilbreda college in Mentone. I went to school nearby and was always amazed at it.

[@zacroffs]

Would have been fascinating to be a fly on the wall in the rooms where they decided to demolish so many of those old buildings. It feels like today the most lackluster brutalist buildings get heritage protection when in the '70s they would just knock down anything to build a few stories higher.

[@martincheevers5898]

Interesting work Philip. I'll be working out of 555 Collins from Feb. I'll think of the Federal every time I have a coffee.

[@paulhicks3595]

My great grandparents, a seafaring Frenchman from the Seychelles and an Irish maid , both recently arrived in Melbourne, met at the South Yarra Coffee Palace. The still quite impressive building is still there at the corner of Toorak rd and Claremont st.

[@reedfish99]

Thanks for creating this video! Really enjoyed it, I’ll try and visit the st kilda coffee palace!

[@geoffreythorburn8030]

Love your work buddy keep 👍 it up. Very interesting.

[@deborahcurtis1385]

Fascinating content, Melbourne is such a beautiful city and now we know why. I love it! Some corrections however: Melbourne is renowned the world over as the capital of coffee. (there's an ED in renowned). But despite its modern pretences (it's with a C or you could say, pretensions).

[@Sami-ArtAus]

My Mother worked at the Federal Hotel in the 50s and it was the most beautiful building in Melbourne, if not Australia. This work of Art should NOT have been "demolished." WHY? To see that ugly new office building breaks my heart. 😢

[@gore1089]

Ah Melbourne. What a city. At least you can still get a sit-down cuppa after 5pm. In Sydney it's only 7 / 11 after 5 pm and if you sit down in they call the cops. Melbourne is Australia's global city where I used to live and may return.

[@MadladMgeee]

Coffee History! 😊

[@incredingo]

kilbreda college in mentone near the railway station was originally a coffee palace. the main building on the front corner is still there.

[@CowboyJojosAdventures]

Great Vlog Philip. Enjoyed it. 👍🏼🙏🏼

[@spacewalktraveller1]

That was really interesting, I learned something I didn't know about my home town.

[@hypercomms2001]

I am interested how the drinking of tea became more dominant in English and Australian society: why? What were the drivers for this change? Was it a perception that drinking tea was more exclusive, more prestigious, than drinking coffee?

[@johnmay6090]

I wondered that too.

[@dmystify1381]

chinese influence,big tea drinkers.

[@philipmallis]

Good question! I was going to dive into this a bit but cut it from the script. There were a couple of factors that spurred the widespread adoption of tea in the Anglosphere. The first was the increasing spice trade throughout the 18th century which made tea much easier and cheaper to obtain. Then you had marketing efforts from those merchants - most notably the East India Company - advertising tea. Finally you had the Victorian era public health interest, and tea was advertised as being good for you. There were many other factors of course, but these are some of the main ones. As this all happened in the UK, it came through to Australia over time. There's this BBC article that helps explain more: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zm2txyc

[@ThePaulv12]

I used to do deliveries around Melbourne CBD and the suburbs of Melbourne. One of our customers was Genovese Coffee in Coburg. I went there so often they would make me coffee if I asked. They had working espresso machine for the staff to use, in the hallway, the warehouse and the showroom. Naturally after I used the mens' room one time I prosaically asked, "Are you considering an espresso machine in the toilet?" The response was, "Yes, yes, yes, very funny that's only about the 900-a-hundreth tima thata questions hasa beena askedta." LOL Anyhow I did ask them whether the coffee is better here or in Italy. The response was, "Unquestionably the coffee is better here than in Italy." Coming from an Italian family that routinely travels to Italy, kind of gives some perspective I would've thought. He did mention they don't sell boutique high end coffee and that anywhere in the world that specializes in that product is going to make better coffee than you can generally buy in Melbourne but the point of Melbourne having readily accessible good if not very good coffee, was plain enough. I drink a quite a lot of coffee and I can say the coffee in Melbourne is pretty good for the most part. I still manage to find the fair share of very average and even bad coffee however - perhaps once or twice a week. In Vic country bad coffee in towns is about a 75% surety, so one tends to use Maccas where one can and get a consistent 6.5/10 coffee if you ask for an extra shot rather than the 3/10 coffee on offer in most other places - businesses that don't drink coffee just sell it because they have to. Of course in tourist towns the coffee is far better, with some exceptions - a cafe in Beaufort (at the park) on the Western hwy has consistently the best takeaway coffee I have ever had but they use a boutique brand.

[@michaelterpea6283]

Very informative! Thank-you for this video!

[@philipmallis]

You are very welcome!

[@Haveafoodtime]

Great video mate! Well done.

[@maxrebo8455]

Albert Park has a nice one too. It’s now a block of flats and in excellent condition. Seems that those closer to the sea had a better chance of surviving the wrecking ball.

[@fraserbowden3342]

A sneaky Adelaide building snuck into this video I see :D

[@SuSang666]

Absolutely! 2.00 Mitcham, Adelaide

[@mce_AU]

Nice video. Strangely I feel like a coffee now for some reason.

[@aristotleolympiada4540]

Such a shame this beautiful and intelligent architecture got replaced with prison like glass monstrosities.

[@Zachaarr]

Really interesting video. I’m still a little confused why Melbourne specifically is such a coffee hub compared to our neighbours in other states. Was it solely because of the gold rush?

[@garynewton1263]

Melbourne was a 'world' city in the 1850s to 1900 period. Ballarat, New York, London, Vienna and Paris were THE cities to be in. That probably explains why Australia's other cities weren't comparable.

[@philipmallis]

Gary is right in the comment above, the goldrush really put Melbourne 'on the map'. Victoria was the centre of attention for much of this period and grew incredibly rapidly. At one point, Flinders Street was the busiest railway station in the entire world. Many of Melbourne's finest buildings were designed or constructed at this time and it shows! Later on, Melbourne was also a popular destination for Italian and Greek migration after the Second World War, more so than most other places in Australia.

[@garynewton1263]

@@philipmallis Yes. On both counts. Yes Flinders Street and the Melbourne electrified metro network was the busiest in the world too, not just the FS station. Very proud that my Grandfather drove Australia's very first metro electric passenger train from Essendon to Elsternwick. The line was eventually electrified to Sandringham and Glenroy. Going to do a hell of a lot of exploring when I do relocate home to Melbourne. Miss it very much.

[@a24-45]

At the time of federation (1900AD) Melbourne was Australia's largest and richest city, and yes, the gold rush in Victoria had brought massive investment into the state. The first Australian parliament was held in Melbourne because it was the obvious choice. Sydney might have been the older city but it was not expanding as quickly.

[@Solarlube]

Yes Ballarat has a Coffee Palace, although it is mainly [ONLY] accommodation now days and I have wondered about its history and if such establishments still exist. I think the days of large styled coffee corporations is fading out and the boutique coffee is more appreciated. Like previous comments have been made.

[@bodhi9464]

Well purpose built buildings in those days . I worked at the old Gas and Fuel building on the north side of Flinders St, the old Herald and Weekly times building , had long lunches on Fridays at the old Duke of Wellington on Flinders St and played pool at Lindrums snooker and pool hall .. great days .. 🇦🇺

[@a24-45]

Mark Twain wrote a hilarious story about being served the most disgusting cup of coffee he had ever had in his life, by a waitress at the railway station at Albury in the 1890's. It seems that country Aussies then were tea drinkers all the way! I assume he got decent coffee again once he reached Melbourne's coffee palaces. At the time Twain was travelling from Sydney to Melbourne in the middle of a highly popular tour of Australia and New Zealand to promotie his books. His witty observations about Australians written in "Following the Equator "(1897) are a hoot and still relevant today.

[@johndunn4182]

Thanks to the Greeks & Italians for introducing culture to Australia.... especially Melbourne,

[@luftclub]

The building at 2.00 is in Adelaide.... interesting video cheers

[@DouglasDC10.30]

1:59 I actually live up the hill from that building! It’s in Mitcham.

[@markhill9275]

Cafe Noturno in Lygon st! Best short black in the world!

[@jens-kristiantofthansen9376]

I'm sorry, but we're not known internationally as a coffee city. Internationally, we're barely known at all - for anything. Now don't get me wrong, I love Melbourne and have lived here for quite a while but Melbourne is not well known, let alone famous, for anything internationally. Yes, you can get really good coffee in Melbourne but you can get that in any city. As well as good cups of coffee I have had some absolutely terrible cups of coffee, paying a premium for them too. As someone else has noted, it's a terrible shame how much of the city's architecture has gone, even in the era where most cities and countries made great efforts to preserve history. There just isn't any genuine respect for that history; if it's not ANZAC related, it doesn't get the attention.

[@werdna_sir]

Well said. I agree with every point.

[@lreid2495]

Mentone, Kilbreda site.

[@paulstubbs7678]

Rather interesting, I thought coffee was a much more modern occurrence in Melbourne, I'm 62 and I don't remember coffee as having any significance in my younger years, the closest I ever got to it was when with my parents bought a coffee peculator that I loved watching in action as a child. It wasn't until I married an Italian that I saw anything other than the odd instant coffee (if you despise instant coffee, try an old school cafe-bar machine, then a jar or Moccona will seem golden). Coffee shops seem to me to be a waste of space, way overpriced drinks, I never saw them as a social place. Yes I've attended a larger place/eatery with a group, but having an engaging conversation never really worked for me, way too noisy, as opposed to a quiet house visit.

[@woodybalfour8213]

Great vid Thank you

[@arrogance8478]

thought it was funny that you showed the Ginger Fox cafe in Beaumaris but didn't mention the main admin building of Kilbreda in Mentone was a coffee palace, 'tis a rather grand building for the area

[@lukasberk]

Great video! But OMG. Can you tell me where to find out about whelan the wrecker? The building I lease in Brunswick was built in 1952 from materials entirely sourced from them but I havnt found info about them. Maybe I was searching the wing name… 🤔 and pointers appeared

[@lukasberk]

Oh wow cool, I previously searched the wrong name! Found lots of info already…

[@philipmallis]

Thanks, and glad you found some information! I would suggest the book 'A City Lost and Found' by Robyn Annear (who's also written other fantastic books about the history of Melbourne). You should be able to find it at the library or find a copy at bookshops: www.goodreads.com/book/show/21823884-a-city-lost-and-found

[@stussysinglet]

Great video..

[@mattayres5147]

Great video 🎉

[@philipmallis]

Thank you 😁

[@garywisby2892]

Hi Philip in the video you said the gold rush happened in 1951.Should it be 1851 TKS Gary

[@krispykruzer]

And it still amazes me to this point that quite a few people still don’t embrace coffee as there go to drink 😢

[@aripapas1098]

coffee is great in Melbourne

[@jamesmuntz386]

Inventor Alexander Graham Bell, US President Herbert Hoover, and Author Mark Twain all stayed in the magnificent Federal Coffee Palace. Its demolition in 1973 was sadly not opposed by the nascent National Trust who were mote focused at the time on protecting older colonial-era buildings. Today, the Federal's loss is arguably the most regretted of all the wonderful buildings that fell victim to the wrecking ball in the poat-war period.

[@pauls8456]

Not just Melbourne, country towns had Coffee Palaces (and temperance union branches). In the country coffee has taken over the daytime but pubs still rule the evenings. Time for a modern temperance movement….

[@BatCaveOz]

"Time for a modern temperance movement…." 🤣

[@MmArbi]

I’m no historian, but interestingly enough some of my Guatemalan family established a coffee plantation called “Finca Australia” around 1800s. I would love to know why they named it that!

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

Wow I had no idea it went back that far.

[@SamTowne2002]

There are so many cafes in metro Melbourne

[@74_pelicans]

Victoria in general

[@lilliankeane5731]

Thank you, that was interesting.

[@philipmallis]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@a7128]

nice work

[@lc9245]

Is Melbourne really world renown as the capital of coffee? I have never heard of Australian coffee reputation until arriving here, it seems self-proclaimed to me. Yet, I admit, I didn't like other countries coffee anymore after trying Australians. Good coffee seems to be around the corner rather than being "holy sites" like most countries in Europe many of which are stuck in the over roasted bean era (France) despite advance gastronomy.

[@saebelorn]

A good recommendation from KZbin, hooray

[@DinaalSAVAGE4321]

We were once the most liveable city in the world. and even now we are third! We are leading in coffee!

[@edwardfletcher7790]

The Federal Coffee palace is VERY similar in design to the Shamrock Hotel in Bendigo.

[@tdef9439]

And the Albert Park Coffee Palace, Bridport Street. Also known as the Biltmore.

[@originaluddite]

The temperance motivation to promote alternatives contrasts rather with the English 1674 Womens' Petition Against Coffee. And, as an aside, is Tankard the best surname to have as a teetotaler? :)

[@trudi1962]

Very interesting!

[@kimsherlock8969]

When I came to Melbourne 30 something years old . There was not a lot of great coffee unless you knew where to go . Now it has become a commodity Before it was a secret wonderful experience of tradition and the expresso machine from Italy .

[@jack6539]

The fact that the federal coffee palace was demolished to be replaced with the 555 (triple dive) collins street building which barely lasted 40 years was disgusting. Having worked in that building over a decade ago, I can tell you it was a cheap piece of junk. Elevators dropping floors, crap aircon requiring portable aircon units, toilets contantly flooding, water tepeatedly dripping onto tables, and staff packed into chicken coup desk settings. Its like replacing a palace with a sewerage plant.

[@SC-gw8np]

I think your last sentence here encapsulates modernity perfectly. What's insane is that these builders of sewerage plants feel superior to those giants who built palaces.

[@BusterMcFlea]

The Newport Coffee House became a boarding house for many years. Don’t know about now because boarding houses have fallen out of favour. It was run by an eccentric old lady the likes of whom you would think was a character from a Dickensian play. It mainly housed single working men. This was back in the 1960’s.