Argus bomb site

While I was in Melbourne waiting for the train, I had time to check out the abandoned Argus building.

The Argus was Melbourne's first newspaper, an amalgamation of a number of early colonial papers including the Port Phillip Patriot and the Melbourne Advertiser.
Its readership filled a compromise between the more conservative 'Age' and the sensationalism of 'The Sun'.

The Argus newspaper was established in 1846, and with its partner The Australiasian (est 1864), was housed in the Argus building on the corner of Elizabeth and La Trobe Streets, from 1926 (the foundation stone was laid in 1924).

It closed in 1957 when sold to Keith Murdoch’s 'Herald & Weekly Times', and the building was later purchased by the Stamoulis family.

The building is an 8 storey stripped classical combination of neo-classical Beaux Arts style with Chicagoesque and Moderne influences, complete with a regal classical tower. La Trobe University purchased it for $8 million in 2004, and apparently spent $34+ million gutting the building. The building had lead-paint and was riddled with asbestos. They then sold it for $15 million in 2010 to the Melbourne Institute of Technology. MIT intend to convert the site into an educational facility.

Now a large portion of the roof and several sections of floors are missing. There is exposed reo and rusty iron beams. Water has damaged parts. Melbourne City Lord Mayor Robert Doyle declared it one of Melbourne’s “bomb sites” -said it was a building of ''historic significance, but it is deteriorating as we look at it and I want to give them the strong message that we will not tolerate the tactic of allowing a building to deteriorate to a point where you can't do anything with it''.
The building is classified by the National Trust and is on the Victorian Heritage Register.

 The Argus building is hosting the Melbourne Music Week a 9 day program of events. MMW with the Melbourne City Council have a short-term lease for a festival site of performance, dining, learning and socialising with bands, DJs, film screenings, vintage clothing stall and more.

Unfortunately most of The Argus building remains off limits, the two lower floors have been renovated to allow 400 people upstairs and 800 people downstairs in the temporary concert hall, which will host both local and international acts.

"Be free"

Here's a short YouTube video of the site and MMW, which shows the bare building and gives a better idea of its dimensions.