May 2026

Can’t decide if this is interesting or just kind of ugly – Park Court is on the corner of St Kilda Street and Ormond Road Elwood overlooking Elsternwick Park, and was built in 1938. The architects were Seabrook & Fildes, who brought blocky cream brick Dutch Modernism to Melbourne with their prize winning design for Macrob Girls High (pic 9). That’s got a lot of dynamic massing where this one is very static.

Found their sketch design in a newspaper, which shows it without the balconies, much more horizontal in effect, emphasised by different coloured bricks and steel framed windows that were going to be red, much like their Brunswick Fire Station (pic 8). I think the balconies are a later alteration, or at least an alteration during construction, they do look very added on; the windows in the flats at the wider end have the original horizontal divisions – in fact I think with these different doors and shutters it’s kind of ruined.

It’s rather run down, still a single owner, perhaps the rents are low. Nice garden and views and there’s a huge hills hoist out back.

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