Carlaminda, Moderne mansion in Toorak

Carlaminda, Moderne mansion in Toorak

27 June 2021, updated 2025

The third important #Moderne house in the Toorak area is #Carlaminda, cnr Toorak and Lansell; looks like a block of flats but actually a big house taking up most of the block. Built in 1938, the architects were #RhysHopkins and Shannon.

Repost 2021: Carlaminda, cnr Toorak Road and Lansell; looks like a block of flats but it’s actually a big house taking up most of the block, and I think one of the top Art Deco / Moderne houses in Melbourne, built in 1938. Great brooding horizontal lines with plenty of curves. The architects were #RhysHopkins and Shannon, and the builder was A E Humphries, rather of Barry.

It was built for Dr Fenton-Bowen, a society GP who was prosecuted a couple of times for ‘causing a miscarriage’ but not found guilty (a good dr could find a way around the laws).

B&W photos Graeme Butler from 1982 before the higher walls, and the #steelframedwindows replaced with simpler patterns. Hasn’t been sold for a long time, but found a bunch of interior pics by Brian Scott on Facebook, perhaps from ages ago – looks very glam, with a rather a lot of flourish in the wrought iron balustrade, and built in veneered robes, great bathrooms.

@hplovesalatte responded last time to say she grew up there, and that it had his & hers dressing rooms, and had/has a suite for the dr with a separate entrance off Toorak Rd, complete with a smooth tiled/floored room for surgical procedures.

2025

3 thoughts on “Carlaminda, Moderne mansion in Toorak

  1. My father bought this house from the Fenton-Bowens in around 1977 & our family lived there for around 10 -15 years. Stunning home with amazing in-built cabinetry. Not sure if I still have many photos from our time there but happy to fill you in on features if required

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