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BILTMORE (ST KILDA)

Location 36 EILDON ROAD ST KILDA, PORT PHILLIP CITY File Number 605322 Level Registered

[1/4] BILTMORE SOHE 2008 [2/4] 1 biltmore 36 eildon rd st [3/4] biltmore 36 eildon rd st kilda [4/4] Patterson Biltmore Flat St

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
Biltmore was constructed in 1922-23 by Dunlop Home Builders, a firm of prolific home builders. Biltmore, a three-storey red brick building topped by a hipped roof clad in terracotta tiles with wide overhanging eaves, is Arts and Crafts in style with oriental influences. The most distinctive element of the building is the projecting hipped bay of the front facade with its unusual decorative treatment. The projection comprises four thin brick piers from ground to eaves with spandrel panels dividing the side bays to form balconies. The central bay has a finely detailed “Cyclops eye” central ocular window. The verticality of the structure is highlighted by two small vertical projections emerging from the roof at each corner of the front facade. The entrance archway has terracotta detailing, timber doors with oval glass and a pergola supported by two stout columns.

How is it significant?
Biltmore is of architectural and historical significance to the state of Victoria.

Why is it significant?
Biltmore is of architectural significance for its highly distinctive design and decorative features. The design and decoration, together with the skilful facade composition combining contrasts of solid and void, mass and volume, with bold verticality produces one of the most distinctive apartment blocks in Melbourne. Important features include the entrance with its archway and pergola roof; and the flat central panel of the facade with its central ocular window and rendered decoration contrasted with the deep voids of the flanking verandahs with their finely rendered balustrades and contrasting strapwork. These motifs together with the deep overhanging eaves combine to give an oriental character to the facade, an allusion which is reinforced by the profiled cantilevered timbers of the entrance pergola.

Biltmore is historically significant as a substantially intact example of an early apartment block located in St Kilda, a suburb associated with a high density of flat development since post-World War I. Biltmore retains significant original features including staircase, fireplaces, pantry cupboards, letterboxes, and milk and bread hatches.