The Rialto
497 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000.
Summary:
- Constructed in 1890-91.
- Designed by William Pitt.
- Listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (no. 605095).
Building Description:
The Rialto is one of the 19th Century Gothic highlights of Collins Street, along with its neighbours, the Winfield Building, South Australian Insurance Building, Record Chambers and The Olderfleet. This building sits on a corner with what was once a laneway between itself and the Winfield Building but now forms the entrance to a hotel.
The Rialto's polychromatic façade features a range of decorative materials including cement, ceramic tiles and pressed zinc. Each level of the building is treated separately, but the Gothic-style of windows is consistent on all floors and provides the building with much of its grandeur. The exposed double-pitched slate roof with dormers and Victorian cast iron, as well as the spectacular spire, cap this building nicely.
Regrettably, the construction of the Rialto Towers behind the building in the 1980's has overshadowed The Rialto (after which it was named).
The Rialto is one of the 19th Century Gothic highlights of Collins Street, along with its neighbours, the Winfield Building, South Australian Insurance Building, Record Chambers and The Olderfleet. This building sits on a corner with what was once a laneway between itself and the Winfield Building but now forms the entrance to a hotel.
The Rialto's polychromatic façade features a range of decorative materials including cement, ceramic tiles and pressed zinc. Each level of the building is treated separately, but the Gothic-style of windows is consistent on all floors and provides the building with much of its grandeur. The exposed double-pitched slate roof with dormers and Victorian cast iron, as well as the spectacular spire, cap this building nicely.
Regrettably, the construction of the Rialto Towers behind the building in the 1980's has overshadowed The Rialto (after which it was named).
