Sydneytecture: Lost Villas of Sydney: Potts Point, Grantham

Original

Today (Google)

Rebuilt in 1870, Grantham estate ran from Macleay Street down to the water at Woolloomooloo, which is where the stone was quarried for it. Sold in 1917, it was progressively subdivided until ultimate demolition in 1937. This photo is from the 1880s.

Some more pics outlining its history follow the jump -

The first pic below shows the house from Macleay Street in the 1870s

Original

Restored

Below is the estate in the 1870s, showing some of the upper level gardens. I can't figure out why, with all that land, they chose to build such a big house hard up in the corner against the road and the neighbour's property line.

Original

Restored

In the 1890s-

Original

Restored

At the front door in 1907, the Dangars ready for a day out in their heyday.

In the 1920s, it had been turned into serviced flats.

By the 1930s, the last of the land is up for sale -

And here is why. The inheriting generation were happy with the fortune provided by the land sale in the densely populating Cross area.

How it's done

As an amateur, I work the manually-intensive way. First, the monochrome source image is enhanced in Photoshop to identify the various elements that require work, along with other areas for concentration. Next, I run any necessary elements through Flux or Nano B2 for primary colouring. The next stage is layer work and assembling in Affinity. The final stage is PS again, where all the fine work on light levels, contrasts, colouring, toning, and refinements are done. Most importantly, everything is constantly cross-matched with the original source image to ensure accurate replication.

...And yet, as AI engines improve, within a year or two all of this will be redundant, as their image-generation capabilities will surpass it.

Lost Villas of Sydney: Potts Point, Grantham

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