They’re building, and building big, in Melbourne.

Let’s be honest. The reason I’m overwhelmed by construction in Melbourne is because I tried to be. I didn’t go looking for one specific job site, so I might research what was being built and pass the information along to the reader. No, I went looking for every job site. And I have no idea if I’ve even come close to finding them. I haven’t been out of the City Center. Haven’t even made it across the Yarra River. I know there’s work going on in the Southbank neighborhood.

So where does when start? Here’s how I started: Walk to every tower crane in sight, take photos, making especially sure to capture at least one sign or marking that let’s me know what I’m seeing. Then get back to the hotel, download everything, and start sorting. And sorting. Lots of sorting. So far, I have files on 30 different projects and buildings. By “buildings,” I mean those that have already been finished and are worth capturing for their coolness. 30. Does that mean there are 30 blog posts coming your way from Melbourne? No chance. Just like in Chicago, I’ve taken far too many photos than I’ll ever have time and/or the wherewithal to use here. Besides, we still have three more cities (Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast) to visit, and I hear all of them are mad with construction.

Rather than inundate you with the same flood of info I inundated myself with, I’ll choose the most interesting and picturesque of what I’ve seen. Plus a few random items thrown in for good measure.

Of the dozens of tower cranes I’ve seen in Melbourne, this is the only non-luffing crane so far.