59-63 Park Street. South Yarra, Victoria

This unnamed terrace in South Yarra is a rare example of the English style basement which is common in Sydney – in Melbourne.

The terrace is located in prestigious Park Street along the tram line and is part of a long uninterrupted streetscape of Victorian era terraces.  The row of three terraces has three storeys, but one is sunken below street level.  Each terrace is a virtual mirror of the other.  Both roof and chimneys are completely hidden by a high parapet, each terrace house having a central classical open arch pediment with shell relief and pilasters, knot linked circle balustrade and a detailed frieze of repeated swags broken by double brackets.  The party walls of the projecting verandah at both levels are decorated with female heads and detailed corbels which extend to the fence line with solid classical posts on bluestone foundations.  The cast iron balcony decoration is particularly detailed both above and below each level.  The faceted bay window which is largely hidden gives additional detail to the terrace and extends to the basement level.  A flight of floating stairs extends from the ground floor to meet the street which features its original cast iron fence and gate.

The terrace has heritage protection through the City of Melbourne Heritage Overlay (HO6).

While I’m not certain of the exact date or architect, it is pretty likely that these boom style terraces were built in the late 1880s sometime between 1887-1889.