Hewison House: 25 Chapel Street, ST KILDA

Building Profile

Location

Construction Details

Built in the Victorian period in the Academic Classical style

Notable features

Elmwood is a two storey villa with a colonnaded verandah and symmetrical facade with entablature. A central pediment over the verandah and balcony is supported by massive Doric columns on the ground floor level and ionic columns above. Plain arched brackets and cast iron balustrading decorate the balcony. Polygonal bays flank the central arched entrance. Voussoirs and rustication emphasise the ground floor facade. The two storey wing on the south side of the building was added not long after construction. Although not a part of the original building, this wing containing a ballroom on the ground floor level and bedrooms above is sympathetic to the design. Elmwood is considered to be a typical villa of its kind. It has been suggested that the palazzo Chiericati ai Vicenza 1550 is a model for Elmwood. As a villa residence the garden setting of Elmwood would have been a vital component.

History

Elmwood was constructed to a design prepared by the architects Crouch and Wilson for the merchant Israel Bloomington in 1868. Bloomington was born c.1826 in Poland, arriving in Australia c.1853. He was the proprietor of a boot/outfitters warehouse in Swanston Street and was a leading member of the Melbourne Jewish community. The architects Thomas James Crouch and Ralph Wilson were well known and prolific designers in Melbourne in the nineteenth century. They had good links with the Jewish community and worked extensively in St Kilda.

• Victorian Heritage Register (H0754) - Hewison House is protected by state law

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