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RMIT Building 1 - Group Classification

Other Name Francis Ormond Building Location 124 Latrobe Street, MELBOURNE VIC 3000 - Property No B2773 File Number B2773 Level Regional

[1/1] B2773 RMIT Building 1 124

Statement of Significance

Individual Statement of Significance: A building of importance in the history of working class education in Victoria, testifying to the enlightenment and philanthropy of Francis Ormond; designed by Nahum Barnet and Percy Oakden in the Gothic manner with steep pitched roof and elaborate wrought iron cresting and finials; the classification applies only to the exterior and the west entrance, not the remodelled interior.

Group Statement of Significance: This group consists of the RMIT Building, 124 Latrobe Street, the City Court on the La trobe Russell Street corner, the City Watch House and the Old Melbourne Gaol in Russell Street. Each of the four notable buildings has already been Classified in its own right. The former Working Mens College, now an RMIT building, was completed in 1891 in the Gothic Revival style and is architecturally compatible with the adjacent City Court. The Norman Revival style City Court built in 1911 is in turn compatible in scale and architectural detailing with the adjacent medieval style City Watch House which was built in 1907-8. The Melbourne Gaol bluestone perimeter wall and other gaol buildings are not only architectually but also socially and historically linked with the City Watch House and City Court and together they form a notable streetscape in Russell Street.