Myer Mural Hall

Architect: Napier Waller, 1933

City of Melbourne | C39

Building Description

The Myer Emporium, mainly constructed in stages during the 1920s and 1930s to designs by the leading commercial architects of the time, HW & FB Tompkins, are of State significance. Together, the buildings formed a merchandising enterprise that in 1929 was described as one of the largest in the British Empire. The Mural Hall, a dining hall for 1,000 people and a venue for fashion parades and performances, was completed in 1933 as part of the sixth floor which was set aside for dining. It is a large rectangular space with a decorative plaster ceiling and balconies and wall panels in a Streamline Moderne style. At the north end of the hall, a pair of ‘mannequin stairs’ lead down from two balconies and the change rooms to a common landing. A temporary catwalk or stage was installed at this landing level for fashion parades and performances. The Hall is decorated with ten murals by renowned artist Napier Waller (1893–1972). Mural Hall is currently used exclusively as a private event space, managed by The Big Group.

What's On

Not normally open to the public view the sequence of Napier Waller murals and pair of ‘mannequin stairs’ up close.

Location