We’re celebrating Olympic fever in Melbourne!

On Saturday 27th July 2024 the ARBV partnered with Open House Melbourne to rediscover the sites of the Melbourne 1956 Olympics.

Published:
Saturday 27 July 2024 at 3:00 pm
Jim Gard'ner and Peter McIntyre showing walk participants images of the 1956 olympics

In 2024, Open House Melbourne has invited everyone to rediscover the city - to seek out new places and reconnect with old favourites as part of the July Weekend. On Saturday 27 July 2024 the ARBV partnered with Open House Melbourne to rediscover the sites of the Melbourne 1956 Olympics.

The walking tour The Architecture of Olympic Boulevard was led by heritage architect and architectural historian Jim Gard’ner, Director of GJM Heritage, along Olympic Boulevard to the Olympic Swimming Pool, Rod Laver Arena, Olympic Park Stadium, AAMI Park, Gosch’s Paddock and the MCG Olympic Stand.

Special guest, Peter McIntyre, architect of the 1956 Olympic Swimming and Diving Stadium greeted participants at the Olympic Pool site and shared his insights into the development of the pool.

Peter McIntyre (left) and Jim Gard'ner (right)
Peter McIntyre (left) and Jim Gard'ner (right)

Walk participants walking past the former pool, now the AIA Vitality Centre
Walk participants walking past the former pool, now the AIA Vitality Centre

The ARBV met with Peter McIntyre earlier in the year and you can watch our interview with Peter to find out about the development of the pool - one of the world’s first post-tensioned steel buildings and Peter’s very early use of high-tensile steel in a building’s structure.

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