You can bank on making some memorable discoveries when the Footscray Historical Society throws open the doors of its home as part of Open House Melbourne.
Designed by architecture firm Terry & Oakden and built by the National Bank of Australasia in 1876, Ercildoune was Footscray’s first custom-built bank.
The bank sold the building in 1942 and it was then used as a rooming house with the name Ercildoune.
The heritage-listed building has now been the home of the Footscray Historical Society for almost half a century, after it bought the building in 1970.
The society has worked to restore the building, leasing out the first floor over the past seven years to an artists’ collective.
Secretary Carmel Taig said both floors of Ercildoune and the Founders’ Garden will be open to the public from 11am-3pm Saturday and Sunday July 29-30, joining more than 200 buildings around Melbourne opening for the 10th year of the Open House Melbourne weekend.
Other Maribyrnong properties participating in the weekend include Footscray Town Hall, Jack’s Magazine, The Drill Hall and Sun Theatre.
Details: www.openhousemelbourne.org
