There are two plan forms in this subdivision, detached villas and semi-detached villas. The detached villas are representative of the type of building that gives North Adelaide much of its distinctive character and feature asymmetrically placed bays and balconies. The semi-detached villas are more eclectically detailed, with unusual balcony and verandah forms. Their “boom” style detailing is distinctive and has few peers in Adelaide.
Consent by the proprietors of town acres 810, 811, 812, 841, 842, 843 and 844 for the City Land Investment Company to sublet all or any part of these town acres was granted on December 3, 1884, by William White, Charles White and J.W. Heathcote. A contemporary description of this development congratulated the architect Thomas Frost on the result, “whereby Molesworth and Barnard Streets were considerably improved”. The City Land Investment Company had commissioned Frost to build 22 dwellings, 18 of them in pairs, and the remaining four, larger, detached and commodious. All were constructed of limestone with cement dressings, and with a 40-foot private road which still runs at the rear. Fulton and Company, and Revell and Adams raised 18,000 cubic feet of limestone from the 7-acre site for the work, which was carried out by E.H. Pert and Son, and Hammond and Moss.