Royal Exhibition Building Dome Promenade reopening after 100 years
The Royal Exhibition Building Dome Promenade and its glorious views will soon open to the public in a “wonderful moment for Melbourne”.
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An icon of the “Marvellous Melbourne” era, the Royal Exhibition Building Dome Promenade, will open to the public for the first time in a century next month.
The promenade has been revived as part of a broader restoration of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed building, after safety issues and a lack of maintenance kept it closed for 100 years.
From October 29, visitors will be able to walk the promenade as part of a guided tour, taking in views of the CBD, Carlton Gardens and spreading as far as the Dandenongs.
“Much like we might walk along the foreshore in St Kilda today on a beautiful day, we understand people would go up there to walk along and look out at the city,” Museums Victoria chief executive Lynley Crosswell said.
“It’s going to be wonderful for Victorians and visitors to be able to do that again.
“This is a really wonderful moment for Melbourne, not only because the promenade hasn’t been available to us for 100 years, but it’s part of the feeling of opening up again.”
At 21m above the ground, the lower promenade deck was “high enough above the city that you have a great view, but not so high that you lose connection”, Ms Crosswell said.
Stretching 67m to the tip of the flagpole on the dome – which was modelled on Florence’s Duomo – the Royal Exhibition Building was the city’s tallest landmark when it was built for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition by Dame Nellie Melba’s father, David Mitchell.
Joseph Reed designed the building, which was the first in Australia to gain UNESCO World Heritage status.
Ms Crosswell said the building had “a deep connection with Melbourne” and played many roles for the city over the years, including as a hospital during the Spanish flu in 1919 and more recently as a Covid vaccination centre.
Those who experience the Dome Promenade will also learn of the building’s history via the tour and an exhibition.
Ms Crosswell noted the restoration of the building’s southern facade had also been completed, and works were continuing to bring the interior back to its former glory.
Amelia Wawrzon got a sneak peek of the promenade while in Melbourne for the final of the Australia’s most prestigious singing competition, the Herald Sun Aria.
Wawrzon will compete against five other singers in the final at the Melbourne Recital Centre on October 2.
Tickets for the Dome Promenade are on sale at museumsvictoria.com.au
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