National Mutual BuildingThe National Mutual Building was built between 1891 and 1895. Originally the head office of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the USA, this building was designed by the Society's chief architect, Edward Raht, in the early Romanesque style. On completion the building was said to have surpassed anything that had ever been attempted in the Australian colonies. Raht designed the building around a central light well containing a grant staircase with a balustrade of Belgian marble. The light well area is roofed by a magnificent stained glass ceiling and once housed two open cage lifts. during world War II the ceiling was temporarily dismantled and stored in the building's basement. At this time, part of the basement was converted for use as an air raid shelter. A handsome vestibule, with walls faced in Italian marble, provides stair access to the upper floors. On the fifth level there is a grandly decorated room that was once a banqueting hall. The building was extensively restored during the 1980s.
This is the last of the Sydney Open posts. Hope you enjoyed them.
Click here to see how the theme was interpreted by participants around the world.
6 comments:
A stained glass CEILING--really?!
Did they put it back in place after the war?
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Open House posts. It is terrific to see things through anothers eyes!
I like this interpretation of the Theme and how you have neatly dove-tailed it into your own theme.
I am working on my replacement blog. Still tweaking to give myself room to move, creatively speaking. Here is how it appears this morning - tomorrow, who knows!!
http://www.jstorry.blogspot.com/
And just from accessing it from a different computer, I can already seem major flaws with how I manipulate the design template that I have chosen. I will tweak some more this evening.
Amazing monochrome picture of the circles/spheres theme.
Beautiful ceiling.
Have a great week.
The Open House posts have been terrific, I'm waiting breathless (well almost!) for the next now.
Sunshine Coast Daily - Australia
Superb.....
Workd perfectly for me the your own theme within the glbal theme. A well rounded informative post as always.
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