Liverpool (Extant) 36 Princes Street

The east side of Princes Street contained just four blocks when J.E.S.Vardy made his survey of St.Kilda in 1873. They comprised large blocks of land with substantial houses, the most southerly of these (lot 7) on the triangular Barkly Street corner being owned by Joseph Levi, an advertising agent, by 1885.

In 1888, Levi subdivided his land to form two blocks. He retained his home at no. 34 (demolished in the 1920s) and handed over the corner block to Nathaniel Levi (1830-1908), who built a residence there for himself. The house was brick with ten rooms and was finished in 1889.

The architect was Nahm Barnet, who was also Jewish, and also lived in St Kilda. He was then at the beginning of his career, best known for numberous city buildings in the period 1900-1915.

Nathaniel Levi, who at the time was an estate agent, named his house Liverpool after Liverpool, England, the place of his birth. Nathaniel Levi was probably best known for his parliamentary career as a member of the Legislative Assembly and later Legislative Council, Cooper in "The History of St. Kilda" stating that he was the first Jew to enter the Parliament of Victoria. He lived at Liverpool until his death in 1908 by which time his nephew, John Levi was living there. The property then passed to John, and continued to be his home to 1930. Like his uncle before him, John Levi pursued a public career, being elected to St Kilda Council in 1922 and serving as mayor in 1924.