EMERGENCY

ironmongers

it's probably been a long time since there was an ironmongery on the corner of York & Charles, however you can't help but wonder at how important and lucrative this business was, considering they built themselves a fairly substantial building and stamped their name and profession all over it.

small tower

i spotted this building a few months back while driving the backstreets of Invermay, looking for photogenic subjects. given the "Ben Lomond Water" sign on this little building, it's a safe bet it's part of the city's water infrastructure. exactly what it's purpose or function is, that's not for me to know.

there's something very 1930s about this little turret of a building, though.

Arches

Part of the old gasworks building. More to come...

a house by the train line

A little cottage at the Inveresk railyards. I'm not quite sure what purpose it served, but as it's right beside the derelict line that crosses via a narrow bridge over the North Esk River my guess is it was some kind of toll house or check-in-booth for trains coming to the railyards.

Of course, nowadays it mostly functions as a target for graffiti, an object of curiousity to passers-by, and a subject for daily photo bloggers.

The GPO Clock Tower

The Launceston GPO clock tower. I've heard that the chiming of the clock drives some visitors mad during summer evenings. For an idea of why, try checking out the twitter account of it's Hobart counterpart - maddening.

I believe the quarter-hour chimes stop after a certain time of night, though - so hang in there!

synagogue

Back in the mid-19th century, there was a large-enough Jewish population in Launceston to justify a whole synagogue. It's quite a neat little building.

1921, St John Street

Launceston is littered with these sorts of buildings. One just needs to wander the centre of town and keep paying attention to the stuff happening above street level.

A tale of new hotels & old hospitals...

This building, the former Launceston General Hospital, sat vacant for a long time. It was a bit of an eyesore, actually, and a shame because it is rather a handsome building. However, like a lot of large vacant buildings in Launceston, it just sat there waiting for someone with a bit of vision and a lot of cash.  So about 18 months ago, it finally re-opened as a swanky new hotel.

Maybe if I can locate a photo of this building during it's derelict hospital phase, I can do a before piece as well.