One of those gorgeous art deco buildings on Canberra Ave is for sale, and just imagine living there

It’s one of a handful of areas that I literally crane my neck to stare at every time I drive past.

At the far end of Canberra Avenue, at the axis of Empire Circuit, is the most gorgeous cluster of 1930s-designed buildings known as the Forrest Fire Station precinct.

Built in 1939, the fire station and the seven double-brick buildings surrounding it are a stunning example of interwar functionalist architecture. Their narrow windows, small cantilevered balconies and interlocking horizontal and vertical elements were the design of then government architects E H Henderson and Cuthbert Whitley.

Forrest Fire Station was built to support the main ACT Fire Station and serviced the inner south until 1983. It is now home to the Canberra Fire Museum.

The other precinct buildings, originally built as government residences, have been home to an assortment of professional services, creative agencies, and health and wellness businesses over the past 85 years.

And now one of the buildings within the fire station precinct is seeking a new owner.

Number 33 Canberra Avenue – formerly known as Block 3, Section 35 Canberra Avenue – hit the market this week with a price tag of $1.7 million. The two-storey property is 132sqm and is zoned for commercial or residential use, or both.

From a commercial point of view, it’s a solid investment, says sales agent Richard Luton. The building is tenanted for five years from 2024 at a rate of $6500/month. The property comes with 10 off-road car spaces and has beautiful frontage to Canberra Avene for exposure.

From a residential point of view, the floorplan would best suit a kitchen, laundry, and dining and living rooms on the ground floor, with three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.

“It really is an exceptional property,” Richard says.

“If you wanted to make it your home, you’re located right in the heart of it all – close to Telopea Park School, Parliament House and, of course, the shopping and dining in Manuka or Old Kingston.”

Renovations undertaken to 33 Canberra Avenue would need to comply with heritage standards. The property is listed on the ACT Heritage Register and the ACT Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture.

According to architectural website Canberra House, the buildings in the Forrest Fire Station precinct are substantially original and, with the demise of the Whitley Houses in Griffith and Braddon, “are the last remaining examples of Government sponsored functionalist residential architecture in Canberra”.

“The Fire Station and houses are built in panels of red and cream face bricks with a regular arrangement of windows and flat roofs concealed by parapets and, on the houses, small cantilevered balconies,” the website says.

“They represent the few remaining intact examples of the work of Cuthbert Whitley, one of the key originators of functionalist architecture in Canberra and Australia. Whitley, with Chief Government Architect Edwin Henderson, was responsible for the design of a number of Government buildings in 1930s Canberra.

“The interlocking horizontal and vertical elements of the residences relate to Willem Dudok’s European modernist architecture in Holland.”

Number 33 Canberra Avenue is available to view by private appointment.

View the full listing.