St Kilda Median PriceThe House price is 5% lower than last year.
Surrounding suburbs| Albert Park | $2,267,600  | | Balaclava | $1,327,300 | | Elwood | $1,743,500 | | Melbourne | $590,000  | | St Kilda East | $1,501,100  | | Windsor | $1,461,700 |
St Kilda Median RentThe House rent is 16% higher than last year.
| | Map | Street view | Nearby property price | | Planning History: | | | Registered as Victorian heritage | What is significant?
The Tolarno Hotel was purchased in 1965 by Georges Mora (1913-1992) and his wife Mirka Mora (1928- ), who had migrated from France in 1951 and had an important influence on the changes which occurred in Melbourne's cultural life in the post-war period. The restaurant was the third the couple had owned since migrating from France in 1951, following the Mirka Cafe in Exhibition Street, Melbourne (now demolished) from 1954, and the Balzac in East Melbourne from 1958, which marked the beginnings of Melbourne's cafe society. Georges Mora bought the hotel as a restaurant, art gallery, studio and home. It had originally been a mansion, was converted to a boarding house in the late nineteenth century, and then to a hotel, with the present restaurant and bar added to the front, by the 1960s. The Moras were prominent members of Melbourne's artistic and bohemian set. They were associated with the revival of the Contemporary Art Society from 1953, and their restaurants were used to display the work of local artists, many of whom have now become world famous, including Charles Blackman, Sidney Nolan, John Perceval and Howard Arkley. At the Tolarno Hotel Georges opened the Tolarno Gallery, where a remarkable series of art exhibitions were held in the 1960s. As well as displaying the work of local artists, including exhibitions of Sydney Nolan's Ned Kelly paintings and of Mirka's paintings, it was also used for exhibitions of the work of modern French masters, which made Georges a valuable emissary of French art in Australia. Between 1965 and 1978 Mirka painted a series of murals over the walls and windows of the restaurant, bistro, hallway and toilets. The restaurant has changed hands several times since 1970, though Georges continued to run the gallery until 1979. Substantial alterations were made in 2006-7, under the supervision of the architect Peter Elliot. As part of these works Mirka Mora was commissioned to restore the original murals and to paint new ones. The original painted windows at the front were replaced. The restaurant was renamed Mirka at Tolarno Hotel.
The Tolarno Hotel is a modern hotel and restaurant resulting from c1930 and c1960 additions to a nineteenth century mansion. At the front are a restaurant and a bar area, with a hallway between leading to the former gallery and hotel reception behind. The colourful murals and artworks of Mirka Mora are an integral part of the character of the place. They include the painted murals around the walls of the restaurant, a painted plaster relief (originally coloured, now painted white) on one wall of the bar, and painted murals in the entrance foyer, hallway, women's toilets and on the south wall of the hotel foyer. There are also in the restaurant three blinds with printed reproductions of Mirka's artwork created specifically for the restaurant. Eight painted light diffusers, originally hanging from the restaurant ceiling, are n | | | | 30 Jun 2006 | | Renovate ground floor facade and internal alterations/renovations and buildings and works within the side boundaries (service areas). | | (Source: Port Phillip Council, reference no: 717/2006) | | | | 11 Oct 2006 | | Partial demolition and removal of existing signage, construct and display new business identification signage and external painting of the building | | (Source: Port Phillip Council, reference no: 1140/2006) | | | | 17 Nov 2006 | | Amend Condition 7 of the permit to allow the internal lights of the sign to be automatically turned off between the hours of 2:00am and 7:00am every day of the year | | (Source: Port Phillip Council, reference no: 1140/2006/A) | | | | 22 Mar 2007 | | installation of roof mounted plant & equipment | | (Source: Port Phillip Council, reference no: 717/2006/A) | | | | 02 Mar 2009 | | buildings and works, addition of bathroom to a hotel room on north-western side of existing hotel on first floor level | | (Source: Port Phillip Council, reference no: 142/2009) | | | | 09 Sep 2010 | | buildings and works to the façade and installation of an awning | | (Source: Port Phillip Council, reference no: 899/2010) | | | | 03 Apr 2013 | | Use/develop the nature strip outside the subject site for a floodlit public art installation (sculpture) | | (Source: Port Phillip Council, reference no: 269/2013) | | | | 13 Apr 2019 | | Transfer of Licence | | (Source: , reference no: ) |
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