Hotel at the Rialto

HOTEL AT THE RIALTO

OLD AND NEW WITH COMPLETE HARMONY

The Rialto Complex, located at 525 Collins Street, is the redevelopment of two magnificent 19^th century buildings. The Rialto and the Winfield Building, palatial structures from Marvellous Melbourne’ and the notorious land boom.

The new complex comprises two conjoined towers of 55 and 43 floors. It was Melbourne’s tallest building when it was built in 1986. A five star hotel was constructed, utilising the whole of the long rear wing of the Rialto Building, the replacement of the rear wing of the Winfield Building and the creation of an atrium between.

HISTORY OF RIALTO BUILDING

During the land boom of the 1880s, a recently arrived New Zealand entrepreneur named Patrick McCaughan perceived the westward movement of commercial development in the city as a lucrative business opportunity.  He then shrewdly bought most of the frontages along the sunny southern side of Collins Street between King and Williams Streets. With the collaboration of architect William Pitt, he constructed two large leasehold office buildings and sold the other properties to other speculative developers. The Olderfleet Building , 477 Collins Street, was completed in 1891, and the Rialto Building, 525 Collins Street, was completed 1892. McCaughan and Pitt knew the value of a Collins Street address and the contribution of flamboyant architecture in creating a favourable business image.

The Rialto was one of the most striking of the many new buildings erected in Melbourne at that time. William Pitt had designed several theatres in Melbourne and liked the laissez-faire style permitting both lightness and elegance to his projects. This can be seen in his drawing of the Olderfleet Building towers (shown above).

As an architect specializing in theatre construction, Pitt was also well aware of the importance of fire resisting construction, as numerous theatre fires had occurred in Australia.

The Rialto designed in the Gothic style of architecture of the transitionary period, the mouldings adopted were early English. The general appearance of the elevation is rendered more attractive by the enrichments of encaustic tile work gracefully arranged to form a frieze for the cornice. The building is surmounted by an octagonal tower crowned with a highly decorated zinc roof which served as a landmark, observable from a considerable distance.

The large complex, principally built in face red tuck-pointed brick, had facades to Collins Street, the Rialto Plaza, Flinders Lane and to the rear of the Winfield building to the east. The five storey Collins Street façade formed a screen to the major section of the building at the rear, a six storey arcade of small warehouses. A bluestone cobbled laneway served the carts and wagons delivering wool and other products to the Rialto building warehouses. The laneway formed a U-shape by looping around under the building at the Collins Street end and returning along the whole length of the west façade back to Flinders Lane.

The design demonstrated a new approach to office accommodation, being specifically planned for a range of commercial tenants. The ground floor frontage on Collins Street was occupied by three commodious shops. Special attention was paid to latest office technology, including lighting and ventilation, fire-prevention measures and speaking tubes. All offices were fitted with a ‘jigger’ lift. Access to the offices on the different floors was by way of iron balconies running the whole length of the building. Two stone staircases were installed and two lifts. At the rear of the top floor the unusual urinal enclosures demonstrated a novel solution to the provision of sanitation in a multi-storey building. The urinals remain today, conspicuously unpainted, on the Flinders Lane façade.

HISTORY OF THE WINFIELD BUILDING

The Queen Anne style of architecture of the building reflects the influence of Richard Norman Shaw in England, with the steep pediment at roof level. The corner treatment echoes the adjacent Rialto building, being splayed and crowned by a conical turret. The dormer windows and decorative iron ridge-work add to its ornate splendour. Designed and built, in 1891, by architects Charles D’Ebro and Richard Speight Jnr. Part of the financing for the building came from the architect and his father, Richard Speight Snr, a commissioner of the Victorian Railways. It is believed to have been built for JR Murphy, owner of Murphy’s brewery and city land investor.

The property was purchased by The Wool Exchange, being one of very few properties in Melbourne’s commercial section that had frontages on two streets, Collins Street and Flinders Lane and in close proximity to the docks.

In the 1850s Melbourne exported approximately 30,000 bales of wool and by 1890, had increased to 210,000 bales. Until this time the tri-weekly sales were conducted at the associated brokers’ businesses which were scattered throughout the city, causing great inconvenience to the buyers. Therefore it became necessary to have a dedicated area for sales.

The building was designed specifically. On the first floor a handsome and spacious hall had been secured and fitted to accommodate up to 210 buyers. With the simple arrangement the auctioneer was able to catch the eye of each bidder with unerring accuracy, especially when thousands of bales of wool were sold. The Wool Exchange operated at these premises until 1914 before moving to King Street.

For the next 75 years the Rialto group of buildings remained familiar but relatively unappreciated. It was only in the early 1970s as another property boom began. Fortunately the government of the day and the National Trust stepped in and put a stop to the demolition of these historic buildings. In 1974 the Hamer Liberal government passed the Historic Buildings Act.

In 1980 National Mutual sold its holdings of the Winfield Building, the Rialto, Robb’s Building and the King Street bluestone warehouses to the Grollo Group.

The new development saw the Rialto, with rear wings retained, combined with the Winfield building, become an atrium-style hotel. While the King Street warehouses were spared, Robb’s Building was sacrificed to allow a plaza for the development of the Rialto office tower.

 The front portion of the Olderfleet Building remains. In 2020 Mirvac opened their new 38 floor commercial development behind the historic façade.

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 These buildings, along with Record Chambers, the South Australian Insurance Building and the Winfield and the Rialto, formed an outstanding streetscape on Collins Street.