This is the Coops Shot Tower in Melbourne.
I had no idea what the heck and old brick tower was doing under a steel and glass cone….. But my friend thankfully enlightened me.
The 9 story tower was constructed to produce lead shots. The way this was done was molten lead balls were dropped from the top of the tower through a copper sieve. Gravity and surface tension shaped the molten lead into a perfect sphere. At the base of the tower the little flaming balls of fire were caught in a basin of cold water where they finished cooling and solidified.
The Coops Tower is located at the Melbourne Central Train Station. In 1991, the conical dome of steel and glass was put over the tower to protect it.
Digital Barrett 