1 Chemist Warehouse, Olive Street:

This isn’t a bad building but the tenants have plastered it with the most lurid colours to advertise products. Ironically for a pharmacy, the appearance almost makes me sick. I’ll understand the next time Albury Council plans new rules to prohibit such crass advertising in future. A pharmacy in Mate Street, North Albury, is a little sister of this one.

2 1st Choice bottle shop, corner Dean and Young streets:

The design would be my last choice. As then planning chairwoman Amanda Duncan-Strelec said in 2006, it’s “garish and very ordinary”. The old Termo site deserved a better building, or preferably a pretty park. The so-called murals don’t work and the building has nothing to commend it.

3 Target department store, Kiewa and Smollett streets

Once upon a time there was a lively street of shops here, but then along came Target in the 1970s. Until about 25 years ago, there was a petrol service station on the corner, but that was purchased and the horrid white brick walls built at one of the city centre’s chief entrances. Yuk!

4 Albury Entertainment Centre, Swift Street: (excluding theatre).

This was originally the Civic Centre, built in the 1970s after the theatre, and was given a makeover in the 1990s. However, it’s still a bland brick building and needs a drastic modification, such as covering with ivy. What a dreadful contrast to the innovative library-museum!

5 Albury Telephone Exchange, Kiewa Street:

A purely functional building erected by a government department with no thought of contributing positively to the central business district. Nineteenth century architects for the telegraph office (now conservatorium) or post office and telephone exchange would turn in their graves if they saw this horror.

6 Sam’s Warehouse at the Fiveways, North Albury:

This corner store was built in a prominent position on the old Hume Highway in the 1970s as an electrical goods store. The present tenants have improved the appearance recently by removing a steel sign towering above the roof-line, but little use made of windows along the street frontage.

7 SS&A Club, Olive Street frontage:

This is a poor example to showcase a leading licensed club, which has virtually turned the original building around to face David Street and built attractive entrance and portico in the car park. However, the “back end’’ faces Olive Street and isn’t worthy of the central business district.

8 Former F.A. Stow building, Fallon Street:

Glass suppliers DLG have done a great job of preserving the art deco brick office of Stow’s on Mate Street, but there are different owners of the old workshops on Fallon Street. These redundant workshops are a blot on an otherwise attractive residential area and hopefully will disappear soon.

9 Albury Tigers Football Club clubrooms, Wodonga Place:

The architect who designed this building didn’t score too many goals in aesthetics. It resembles a tawdry warehouse in a rundown industrial area, yet this it is the home of a successful sports club. It’s true the Albury Sportsground has a lovely grandstand, but the clubrooms are a blight on the area.

10 Allied Mills flour mill, Young Street:

When it was making cereals and employing people, it was fair enough to have a great brick and iron building on the city’s doorstep. With the mill now closed, the owners want to demolish it. It’s heritage-listed but I can’t see how one could justify keeping the thing, so it will be goodbye and good riddance.