17 September 2025
The thing about Park Street South Yarra is that there’s so much great stuff, and it’s pretty much all 1880s to 1930s, no more than three floors, and tightly packed too, so it feels very urban.
The east side must have been some kind of hill, so there’s a lot of stair access to the terraces, not many front gardens, so again feels urban. There’s also some pretty unusual designs, the red brick almost Romanesque terraces, and a pair with Art Nouveau details, and the one ‘high rise’, the bulky Park Mansions, built in 1912. And one recent infill house, not bad.
I’ve posted most before individually so I’ll just leave you with these pics from Monday, and note that I saw that the tram tracks just stop at Toorak Road, so there won’t be trams here again any time soon; it was always an odd detour, but good for getting to the bot gardens.
27 July 2021
24 Park Street, South Yarra; built 1890, and unusually wide for a terrace, presumably a double block, and also unusually set on a plinth of bluestone, with stairs up. Looks like a curved bay window added, 1910s or 20s. It’s very much a big house, with 4 reception rooms and 5 bedrooms. Sold 2011 for $4.85m.
27 September 2024, photos 2021
Some very unusual terraces at 38-40 Park Street South Yarra, built 1899 which feature red brick and chunky Romanesque capitals, and pierced balconies in square and circles. They were designed by Frank Stapley, who later went on the be Lord Mayor and Melbourne, champion town planning, and designed the cute tram shelters on St Kilda Road, and the West Melbourne Stadium, later Festival Hall. He also designed the similar but more Edwardian terraces opposite at 21-23 Park Street, pics 4-7. It’s a great street, full of unusual Edwardian era houses, terraces and flats.
2025
Storey of Melbourne 