Telephoto view across the harbour: the whole tower with its beige brick, yellow vertical bands and rooftop plant room, seen over the foreshore trees. Hazy flat sky.

Blues Point Tower

14-28 Blues Point Road, McMahons Point

Harry Seidler. 1960 to 1962. Modernism.

Size
83 m, 25 floors (sources give 24 to 26)
Material
Reinforced concrete, brick-textured walls
Status
Local heritage item, 1993. Apartments

In 1957 residents feared their point would be rezoned for industry, and asked Seidler for another idea. He and a team of volunteers proposed a high-density apartment scheme instead, and the rezoning failed. Residents and a new council then opposed that scheme in turn, and its widespread demolitions did not go ahead. On the site that did proceed, the developer Dick Dusseldorp suggested putting two planned towers together into one. It was among the first strata-titled high-rises in the country and the tallest residential building in Australia until 1970, though the Powerhouse says for more than two decades. Criticism grew from the 1980s, and the former Lord Mayor Frank Sartor said he would remove it if he could. Seidler called it one of his best.

Read about Modernism in Sydney

Sources

  1. Architectural model ‘Blues Point Tower’ and showcase, Powerhouse Collection
  2. McMahons Point (Park, 2008), Dictionary of Sydney
  3. Blues Point Tower, Dictionary of Sydney
  4. Blues Point Tower, Wikipedia
  5. McMahons Point, Wikipedia