• Vivamus lobortis
  • Ut porttitor urna ut pretium
  • Phasellus convallis tincidunt enim.

Oslo House Grey Street (Extant)

A black and white photograph of the Oslo House terraces, looking from the street frontage. There is a low white boundary wall along the street, with two gates set some distance apart, and low hedges behind the wall.
Oslo House

38C Grey Street
St Kilda,Victoria
Australia 3182
  • Date Built: 1858
  • Demolished: Extant but changed significantly
  • Owners and occupiers:
    1861 Rate Books list owner as Gripe, and a description of 5 dwellings of 9 rooms and offices constructed of brick and slate. It is of some special interest that one of the occupants of the Terrace in this year was Commander Cox very likely of Cox Survey fame. HR.
    1867 the Terrace is described as 11 rooms and brick still owned by G. & W. Gripe. HR
    1873 Dalgety Blackwood and Co.
    1909 name changes to Oslo (Guest House), owner A. Kozminsky. 
     
  • Description:

    Originally, the ground floor with asymetrically sized windows, slim and delicate shouldered architraves and decorative rusticated pilasters (at the place of the party wall) indicates an austere elegance. (HR)  The ground floor includes entryways and colonnades as well as balconies accessible at the first floor level indicating an Italianate inspiration, within an overall Georgian style. HR. However, of greater importance from this achievement of architectural mood is the treatment of the first floor verandah as an open porch. Previously in St. Kilda (so far as it has been possible to discover) included an iron-roofed verandah ~ either single or double storied.

     
    {gallery}Oslo House{/gallery}
  • History:
    1861 Rate Book ownership G W Gripe for a 5 dwellings building of 9 rooms and offices constructed of brick and slate. 
    1861 Occupants of the Terrace : Commander Cox very likely of Cox Survey fame.(HR)
    1867 Ownership G W Gripe described as 11 rooms and brick.
    1873 Vardy Plan  shows the houses and stables. Presumably F.G. Dalgety repented of having sold all his interests in St. Kilda, namely the auction of "Dalgety Paddock" in April 1853, for it is Dalgety Blackwood and Co. who owned "OSLO" at the time of Vardy.. HR
    Additions were made in the late nineteenth century, which included the rear wings of the houses (these do not appear on the 1873 Vardy Plan) and the stables adjacent to the east boundary. MMBW Sewerage plans show the consequent changes to the building footprint around this time.DH
    1909 major changes to the façade (shown in the image in the SKHS flickr page), and name changes to Oslo (Guest House). The then owner A. Kozminsky obtained a building permit for alterations and additions. This comprised a new three level verandah, the lowest level in brick arches, the others in lightweight timber. This and few other alterations to the front of the building are a very good disguise to the original state. Converting the building to small single room tenancies - some newspaper articles refer to them as 'flats', but it is evident that they were not true flats as they were not self-contained. DH 
    1917 Mr Kosminksy obtained another permit to convert the c.1890s stables to a garage. (DH)
    1920s the building was known as the Killeen Guest House. (DH)
    Late 1930s additions were made in accordance with plans prepared by Harry R. Johnson. This included a Moderne style addition at the front and the four storey building at the rear, retaining one of the original stables and demolishing the others.(DH)
    One of the original stables survives to 2017.
    2017 Channel Nine programme 'The Block' converted the building back to separate terraces, removed the red brick buildings (extensions) to the rear and replaced with garages and associated 'mews style' additions. The front facade alterations retain the 1909 balconies and remove Moderne style addition. 
     


     

     
  • Sources:

     

    Howardd Raggatt

    David Helms
  • Compiled by: Helen Halliday, 2022-09-08, updated Rohan Storey, 2026