Pubs of Melbourne CBD

 

While in the Melbourne CBD, I managed to photograph a few pubs for my collection.  Here are some that I found the most interesting:

The Mitre Tavern, in Bank Place, is documented by the Melbourne City Council as being the oldest building in Melbourne.  Parts of the building date back to c 1836.

According to the plaque beside the door, its steeply pitched roof is waiting for snow which has never fallen on it, and the small windows relate to the English window tax of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Originally a private home, its first liquor licence was issued in 1868, and it has been trading as a tavern ever since.

The name for the Mitre 10 hardware chain originated here.  Two of the founding members were drinking at the Tavern when inspiration struck (“mitre” is a hardware term).

 

The prize for the oldest hotel, however, goes to the Duke of Wellington, licensed in 1853.

 

The Duke of Wellington, on prime real estate on the corner of Flinders and Russell Streets, was closed in 2006 and scheduled to reopen in 2009.  This doesn’t seem to have happened.

 

The Charles Dickens Tavern was downstairs in an arcade off Collins Street.

 

It was advertising the Tutankhamun exhibition we had just visited.

 

A mural of a Dickensian streetscape seen through a window tried to trick you into thinking you weren’t under the ground.

 

The Sherlock Holmes is in a basement in Collins Street.

 

Sherlock Holmes front door.

 

The Rialto.  The “tower suite” is a mere $795 a night.

 

Bridie O’Reilly’s claims to be Melbourne’s original Irish pub.  It has a lot to answer for.

 

The beautiful Windsor Hotel has been serving high tea since 1883.  You have to book weeks in advance.  They also have a ten-choice pillow menu.