CBD Sunday.

Photos from a Sunday excursion to the CBD. Obstensibly there for a well-intentioned program called Melbourne Open House, which promised 'access to explore 32 of Melbourne's buildings for FREE' but in reality offered long lines and scant organization. Photo above was taken looking out one of Melbourne's few remaining Starbucks (I like their mochas -- so shoot me).
On Bourke Street, just east of Southern Cross Station, is the incongruously named Donkey Wheel House (Donkey Wheel is a non-profit trust that help raise money for 'unfundable' social initiatives). Built in 1891 when it was known as the Melbourne Tramways & Omnibus Company Building (below), it's stood on the western edge of the CBD as a regal monument to the prowess of Melbourne's tram system, once one of the world's largest.

Inside: high ceilings, flaky plaster, and acres of battered wood floors.
Impetus for 19th-century urban verticalization ...
... but there's always the stairs.
Grated sunlight from a huge basement window.
People, or ghosts? Could be either in a pillar to people long gone.
Looking towards Docklands from Flagstaff Gardens. The park gets its name from a flagstaff erected in 1840 that was used to send signals between the harbour and the town. Hard to imagine in Melbourne's present-day metropolis.
Walking towards Queen Victoria Markets for fruits & vegies.
Back to Flinders Street Station for the train to Eaglemont.