If everything goes as planned, and the Maritime Museum of sa国际传媒 moves into the CPR Steamship Terminal Building, that will rob 28 Bastion Square of its tenant. The former courthouse is an important piece of sa国际传媒鈥檚 past, and the building鈥檚 future should be carefully considered.
The building, intended to be the premises for the Supreme Court of sa国际传媒, was designed by German-born Otto Tiedemann, Victoria鈥檚 first professional architect.
Construction on the Bastion Square building began in 1887. The metre-thick walls were made of brick covered with concrete and grooved to give the appearance of huge granite blocks. It was the first concrete-faced building in sa国际传媒
When the building opened, presiding in the the courtroom was Matthew Baillie Begbie, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of sa国际传媒, who contrasted the splendour of the new building to his previous practice of dispensing justice in the open air with a tree stump for a bench.
At the dawn of the 20th century, Francis M. Rattenbury, architect of the current legislative buildings, renovated the courthouse, installing an open-cage elevator for the benefit of chief justice Theodore Davie, whose health did not allow him to climb stairs. It鈥檚 now the oldest operating elevator in sa国际传媒 and considered by aficionados as one of the top 10 elevator rides in the world.
After the courts moved in 1962, the building served as a temporary city hall and then became the home of the Maritime Museum in 1965.
Let鈥檚 ensure future plans acknowledge the rich history that still echoes in the halls of 28 Bastion Square.
