Fitzroy history – the Cairo flats on Nicholson St
The Cairo apartment building on Nicholson St is one of Melbourne’s art deco treasures. In exploring the historical photo archives I found two images of the building when relatively new, and thought these would make an interesting comparison to how it looks now.
The original photos are from a Fitzroy municipal rating study, which states that the multiple unit dwelling project would transform the city. Set in extensive and well-kept lawns and gardens, the flats front to Nicholson Street. There are 37 flats and a cafe (presumably long since closed or converted to another flat). Twenty years before these photos were taken (1948) the site was occupied by a single old house of 14 rooms.
Courtesy of Fitzroy local history photograph collection / ID: 15199 / photographer: unknown / copyright: expired – image is in the public domain
After 60 years the gardens have grown enormously, and threaten to overwhelm the building, rather like a pyramid lost in a south American rainforrest.
Another blogger has posted a short review and some photos from within the courtyard.
Courtesy of Fitzroy local history photograph collection / ID: 15200 / photographer: unknown / photographer: unknown / copyright: expired – image is in the public domain
Flats in the building appear in local real estate listings from time to time (photos are available on these real estate websites of apartments 12, 19 and 27). When I have a chance I will make an inspection.
Update 22 January 2009: while browsing the photo collection of Picture Australia and the State Library of Victoria (SLV) pictures catalogue I found another image of the Cairo building focusing on the amazing staircase taken in 1951.
Courtesy of the SLV / ID: a40655 / photographer: Lyle Fowler / copyright: expired – image is in the public domain
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January 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I’m quite curious about the Cairo – they come up fairly often for sale, I had a look at one a few years ago. They’re all one bedroom flats now (or bedsits, one or the other, I can’t remember) but I suspect that originally they were larger and they’ve been redeveloped at some stage. In any case, all character has been ripped out of them, and they feature modern kitchens and bathrooms.
I first saw the building about ten years ago and wanted to explore – it seemed to be a private establishment like a home for disabled people or something, in any case there weren’t any letterboxes, and it wasn’t possible to get through the locked gate.
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January 14th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
It does look very private. I did not even try to go in, but will whenever the next flat is for sale and open for inspection.
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August 15th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
A friend used to live there and I had the pleasure of house sitting a few times. It is a mix of bedsits and one bedroom flats.(I think its all bedsits on the ground floor and 1 br on the first floor). The bedsit was compact but had a separate kitchen, decent sized bathroom with big old bath and a good sized wardrobe, plus glass door leading off the main room to go into the garden. The green space in the centre was lovely and a great place for picnics. I think the block was designed for single men, who of course at that time couldn’t be relied on to cook for themselves therefor there was the dinning room.
The block was redeveloped a few years ago. Not seen inside since.
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October 28th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Actually, I believe that the flats were originally intended for single, working *women*, quite a new phenomenon in the 1920s/30s. Cairo offered a mixture of independence and community, rather different to living in a boarding house or as a lodger.
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October 28th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Interesting – I have done some more research but can’t find reference to the flats being made especially for either gender. Heritage Victoria has a page on the flats, and this chapter or article in Fabrications by Philip Goad has a section on the Cairo flats (2.45mb PDF). There are some more details and photos in this document (358kb PDF).
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December 24th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Cairo was intended to be a new style of living for Melbourne, based on the European ideal of the ‘minimum flat”, with built-in furniture and nooks. They were generally let as ‘bachelor’ flats, which can be either sex but are generally regarded as male. They were only ever the same configuration as now (single bedroom) and the block was served by a communal dining area (and each flat had a hatch for the delivery of meals. The wonderful stairs led to a rooftop garden. The designer was Best Overend, who had worked on similar projects in London. In recent years, the block has had a security fence and gates installed – good for the residents but unfortunate for lovers of the style, who used to be able to wander around. The block is featured in my recent book Melbourne Art Deco.
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