Villa Alba Museum

Villa Alba at 44 Walmer St, Kew, is a museum in the State of Victoria, Australia.

It was built and decorated between 1882 and 1884 for Anna Maria McEvoy and her husband, William Greenlaw who was the General Manager of the Colonial Bank of Australasia in Melbourne. Villa Alba is located in Kew opposite Studley Park adjacent the Yarra River. The Yarra separated the Greenlaw's Villa Alba from the working class terrace houses located on the other side of the river in Abbottsford and Collingwood. An Villa Alba is a two-storey home with rendered masonry walls and a slate roof. The house stands opposite Studley Park, overlooking the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. It is believed that there was an earlier weatherboard house on the site which was built in 1863. In 1883 to 1884 the present house was built for William Greenlaw and his wife Anna Maria (nee McEvoy). The house's architectural style and its tower are a landmark in the neighborhood and it retains its original surroundings now surrounded by the school and neighbouring residences. However, it is the interior which is the most remarkable feature of Villa Alba. The interior of the house was elaborately decorated by the Paterson Bros. a company of three Scottish brothers who undertook many commissions to decorate wealthy homes in Melbourne during the economic boom following the gold rush and during the period known as 'Marvellous Melbourne'. The Paterson Bros. decorated Villa Alba in Kew along with other notable public buildings such as The Royal Exhibition Building, the Ballroom and Private Apartments at Government House, Melbourne Town Hall, the Parliamentary Library and the Prahran Public Library.