Majorca Building, Commercial building in Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Australia
The Majorca Building is an eight-story commercial structure on Flinders Lane in Melbourne, completed in 1930 and featuring a deep blue and buff-colored faience exterior with fish and shell decorative motifs. The design incorporates Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco elements, with retail spaces below and residential apartments above following its 1993 conversion.
The building was designed in 1930 by architect Harry Norris for the Nicholas brothers, who built their wealth through the pharmaceutical company Aspro. It was constructed during a period of significant economic activity in Melbourne, reflecting the architectural ambitions of the era.
The building's name references Spanish architectural traditions, and its detailed tilework shows how Melbourne welcomed international design influences during the 1930s. Walking past it, you notice how the decorative fish and shell patterns catch light differently at various times of day, adding movement to what is essentially a shopfront.
The building sits centrally on Flinders Lane and is easy to reach on foot, with ground-floor shops directly accessible from the street. The upper levels are divided into private residences, so visitors can only view the exterior facade and retail spaces from the sidewalk.
The vivid blue faience exterior was originally a technical experiment in glazed tilework, a technique still uncommon for large buildings in Australia during the 1930s. This choice made the structure an early adopter of glazed terracotta for durability and color retention.
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