In the late 1950s, Australia went through a rapid demographic and economic boom, with thousands of new immigrants flocking towards the prosperous cities spread out across the country, then inhabited by a mere 9.4 million people. In 1957, the capital and largest city of the State of Victoria, Melbourne, was already a major urban centre on the southern coast of the country with a population of 1.5 million. In the picture below, taken in 1957, the city and its abundant Victorian architecture are seen from the banks of the Yarra River, more specifically from Alexandra Gardens, which opened in 1901.

The view of the Melbourne skyline from the Alexandra Gardens in 1957, image courtesy of OldPicz.com

Fast forward to 2010, and you'll find a very different view that Melburnians can admire today. With height restrictions lifted in the central business district in 1958, highrise construction has transformed the urban landscape of the now 4.4-million-inhabitant metropolis. Visible on the left side of the picture, the 297.3-metre Eureka Tower is the tallest building in Australia by roof height, and was the highest residential structure in the world when completed in 2006.

Similar view in 2010, image by Donaldytong via Wikimedia Commons

In the upcoming years, the city will once again go through an unprecedented transformation, with several dozen 200+ metre buildings planned or currently under construction in the downtown area, such as Australia 108, the future tallest at 319 metres. If you wish to have a look at these projects and share your opinion and pictures, you can visit the associated Forum threads and Database files on our site. We will be back next week for another look at the past. In the meantime, you can have a say about today's post by leaving a comment at the bottom of this page.