The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne's Carlton Gardens was designed by Joseph Reed of Reed and Barnes, whose design won an 1878 competition, and built by David Mitchell. The foundation stone was laid on February 19, 1879, and it opened on October 1, 1880. The text calls the style eclectic, drawing on Byzantine, Romanesque and Italian Renaissance forms.
A cruciform plan centers on a Great Hall of over 12,000 square meters. The dome, modeled on Florence Cathedral, uses cast iron and timber framing with a double shell, and was designed to rise 68 meters (223 feet). The building is brick, timber, steel and slate, and it is 490 feet (150 m) long.
Wings were lost over time, including a fire in 1953 and the demolition of the grand ballroom in 1979. A$20 million of works from 2018 to 2022 conserved parts of the facade, and the Dome Promenade reopened on October 28, 2022. Tours are bookable.
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