The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed for the holiday period from 4:00pm on Wednesday 18 December and will reopen at 10:00am on Tuesday 7 January.
No books will be due during this period but there will be a returns box available on the landing whenever the building is open. Ebooks will continue to be available during this period through OverDrive and the Libby app.
We wish all our members a very happy festive season.
The exterior of the building today has changed very little, apart from a veranda which was added in 1923 when Frank Talbot remodelled the large hall, building a modern theatre inside it. (See separate section about the theatre)
The Australian Heritage Commission proposed adding the building to the Register of the National Estate and this was carried out in 1980. In 1981 the building was recognised by the Historic Buildings Preservation Council, as entry number 501 in the State's Register of Historic Buildings.
The heritage organisations do not acknowledge the original 1842 building as significant, but refer to the 1886 remodelling when the front was brought to the level of the footpath and the third storey added.
